Mexico earthquake: Watch live TV moment quake violently shakes

A Mexican news station was broadcasting an unrelated story on live television Tuesday afternoon the moment a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck not too far from Mexico City where the destruction was immense. In Mexico City alone, at least 30 people died and 44 buildings were reported damaged by early evening. More than 100 people were killed as the quake’s wrath was felt hundreds of miles, according to the Los Angeles Times.

At Foro TV, news anchor Enrique Campos calmly interrupted his on-field reporter to acknowledge that the city’s earthquake alert sirens were sounding. The camera quickly cut back to Campos where he kept talking.

Photos: Meet the sniff dogs rescuing earthquake survivors in Mexico

“At this moment, an earthquake can be felt. The floor is moving,” Camos said.

Then he told the audience, “You know what to do at this moment: Stay calm and evacuate immediately.”

A second later, the studio began to shake violently.

Campos stood up and said, “I am going to get up and I’m going to evacuate.”

Watch the entire clip here:

The frightening video of the live broadcast was just one of many images to come out of Mexico showing buildings turning into rubble and people fleeing into the streets. As the hours progressed, images got more grim.

Related: Mexico earthquake: Photos, videos show wrath of 7.1 quake

Scores of rescuers and bystanders were seen digging through the collapsed buildings, digging to find survivors buried underneath. Dozens of buildings were said to have collapsed and more than 119 deaths were reported within the first hours of the aftermath. The death toll was expected to climb.

Journalists on the ground shared images of rescue operations underway.

Coincidentally, the quake arrived on the same day as a historic earthquake that struck Mexico City in 1985. It occurred less than two weeks after an 8.1 magnitude quake struck Mexico’s southern coast, causing heavy damage in the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca. On Tuesday, the city was conducting an earthquake drill moments before the real quake came.

Photo Gallery: 1985 Mexico City earthquake

Foro TV kept broadcasting the news. It relied on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to show images on the ground. And after evacuating, even Campos returned to his job to report the story.

To get the latest information on the earthquake, visit the Los Angeles Times for updates.

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Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

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