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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Rescuers have been using sledgehammers to break through fallen concrete as they hunt for survivors at a Mexican hospital shattered by a powerful gas explosion.
Injured mothers fled with infants and frantic family members waited for word on loved ones who had been inside.
Officials say at least two people were killed and more than 50 injured in the blast at the maternity and children's hospital on the outskirts of Mexico City. Earlier, officials said at least four had been killed.
The mayor says at least 22 of the injured are children. He says most of the injuries are relatively minor, many of them caused by flying glass.
The explosion occurred as a tanker truck was delivering gas to the hospital kitchen. One witness says the hose broke, spewing a cloud of gas as workers struggled frantically to repair the leak.
Another witness says people had started to evacuate the hospital when a massive explosion sent up an enormous fireball and plumes of dust and smoke.
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164-c-12-(Chris Sherman, AP correspondent)-"looking for people"-AP correspondent Chris Sherman reports that a gas truck has exploded outside a maternity and children's hospital in Mexico City. (29 Jan 2015)
<<CUT *164 (01/29/15)££ 00:12 "looking for people"
163-c-16-(Chris Sherman, AP correspondent)-"has completely collapsed"-AP correspondent Chris Sherman reports Mexico City has been rocked by a deadly explosion. (29 Jan 2015)
<<CUT *163 (01/29/15)££ 00:16 "has completely collapsed"
APPHOTO MXMU119: A firefighter sprays water on a gas tank truck outside a maternity and children's hospital in Cuajimalpa, on the outskirts of Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. A powerful gas tank explosion shattered the hospital on the western edge of Mexico's capital, killing at least three adults and one baby and injuring dozens. (AP Photo) (29 Jan 2015)
<<APPHOTO MXMU119 (01/29/15)££
APPHOTO RLB114: Rescue workers comb through the rubble of a children's hospital after a gas truck exploded, in Cuajimalpa on the outskirts of Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. The powerful explosion shattered the hospital on the western edge of Mexico's capital, killing at least three adults and one baby and injuring dozens. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) (29 Jan 2015)
<<APPHOTO RLB114 (01/29/15)££
APPHOTO MXMU101: Rescue workers comb through the rubble of a children's hospital after a gas truck exploded, in Cuajimalpa on the outskirts of Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. The powerful explosion shattered the hospital on the western edge of Mexico's capital, killing at least three adults and one baby and injuring dozens. (AP Photo) (29 Jan 2015)
<<APPHOTO MXMU101 (01/29/15)££
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