Teachers lead swaying toddlers to safety during Mexico quake

Dramatic footage in Mexico City shows toddlers swaying and struggling to walk as teachers and caretakers at childcare centres led them outside buildings during last month’s deadly 7.1 earthquake.

The footage, released by the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) daycares, shows cars violently moving and trees shaking as the children are seated in the middle of outdoor playgrounds.

In a press release, ISSSTE Director, Jose Reyes Baeza Terrazas, said protection protocols were followed quickly and efficiently, and helped keep the 7,000 kids registered at the state-run Mexican daycares safe.

The September 19 earthquake killed 369 people, the most deadly in a generation, with almost two-thirds of the fatalities in the capital.

Nineteen children and six adults were killed at the Enrique Rebsamen school in Mexico City which collapsed during the quake.

The school became the site of frantic rescue attempts as workers toiled for hours to free trapped children beneath the rubble and it soon became a symbol of the nation’s devastation and loss.