At least 20 schoolchildren among the 248 killed in Mexico after their school collapsed during a 7.1-magnitude earthquake

At least 248 people are dead after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Mexico on Tuesday causing widespread devastation across Mexico City where a school has collapsed.

Twenty children and two adults were confirmed dead after being found in the debris of the Enrique Rebsamen school, with a further 30 children and eight adults still missing as of 2am Wednesday.

The tremor struck near the Puebla state town of Raboso, about 75 miles southeast of Mexico City, and came on the anniversary of another devastating earthquake in 1985.
It also came just days after another 8.1-magnitude earthquake which struck Chipas, killed at least 98 people, and hours after nationwide emergency practice drills.

Horrifying images coming out of the country's capital show rubble strewn across roads and enormous chunks of collapsed buildings laying on the ground with hundreds of terrified locals fleeing onto the streets.

As structures fell around her, local resident Georgina Sanchez, 52, said: 'I'm so worried. I can't stop crying. It's the same nightmare as in 1985.'