Overview
- The explosion happened Saturday night in a storage room next to the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Luz in Santa María Canchesdá and caused part of the church’s roof and walls to collapse onto people gathered for the patronal vísperas.
- State protection authorities gave an initial toll of 13 dead and 49 injured while another state report listed 10 dead and 64 injured, and later health updates have continued to shift those totals.
- Rescue teams from municipal protection units, state brigades, firefighters and national emergency services used heavy machinery to remove debris and move dozens of wounded to hospitals in Atlacomulco and nearby cities.
- The Diócesis de Atlacomulco said two local priests were injured and are out of danger, and the diocese has requested medical and humanitarian supplies to help patients and families.
- The Fiscalía del Estado de México has begun a formal probe into the explosion and officials warned that widely shared social media videos do not show this incident as investigators work to confirm whether storage permits or unsafe handling played a role.