Girl Believed To Be Trapped In School Rubble After Earthquake Doesn’t Exist, Say Mexican Authorities
- 7 years ago
A 12-year-old girl believed to have been trapped in the wreckage of a school destroyed by Mexico’s 7.1-magnitude earthquake Tuesday does not seem to exist after all.
A 12-year-old girl believed to have been trapped in the wreckage of a school destroyed by Mexico’s 7.1-magnitude earthquake Tuesday does not seem to exist after all.
“We want to stress, this story about a girl whose name was out in [news casts], we’ve never had any knowledge of this version,” said Naval officer Admiral Ángel Enrique Sarmiento on Thursday, according to BuzzFeed News.
He has also been quoted as saying, “All of the children are, unfortunately, dead or safe at home.”
His announcement, along with reports that the Mexico City school has no record of a student named Frida Sofia, has shocked many observers who rooted for her and made her a popular figure on social media.
As the BBC says, one person tweeted in Spanish, “Frida Sofia...they told her to move a hand, she moved a nation.”
The comment likely refers to media accounts that made it seem like rescuers had made contact with her; for instance, an Associated Press report had stated, “The sight of her wiggling fingers early Wednesday became a symbol for the hope that drove thousands of professionals and volunteers to work frantically…”
A local TV network, Noticieros Televisa, also broadcast continuously from the scene and showed a rescuer saying, “We continue to do all efforts we can to get to her.”
While the exact origin of the “Frida Sofia” rumor is still unknown, one of the network’s hosts, Denise Maerker, seemed to place the blame on officials, tweeting in Spanish, “Authorities gave minute-by-minute updates of all the information about Frida Sofia, and today they say the girl doesn’t exist.”
According to the BBC, 230 fatalities have been reported so far in the wake of the earthquake.
A 12-year-old girl believed to have been trapped in the wreckage of a school destroyed by Mexico’s 7.1-magnitude earthquake Tuesday does not seem to exist after all.
“We want to stress, this story about a girl whose name was out in [news casts], we’ve never had any knowledge of this version,” said Naval officer Admiral Ángel Enrique Sarmiento on Thursday, according to BuzzFeed News.
He has also been quoted as saying, “All of the children are, unfortunately, dead or safe at home.”
His announcement, along with reports that the Mexico City school has no record of a student named Frida Sofia, has shocked many observers who rooted for her and made her a popular figure on social media.
As the BBC says, one person tweeted in Spanish, “Frida Sofia...they told her to move a hand, she moved a nation.”
The comment likely refers to media accounts that made it seem like rescuers had made contact with her; for instance, an Associated Press report had stated, “The sight of her wiggling fingers early Wednesday became a symbol for the hope that drove thousands of professionals and volunteers to work frantically…”
A local TV network, Noticieros Televisa, also broadcast continuously from the scene and showed a rescuer saying, “We continue to do all efforts we can to get to her.”
While the exact origin of the “Frida Sofia” rumor is still unknown, one of the network’s hosts, Denise Maerker, seemed to place the blame on officials, tweeting in Spanish, “Authorities gave minute-by-minute updates of all the information about Frida Sofia, and today they say the girl doesn’t exist.”
According to the BBC, 230 fatalities have been reported so far in the wake of the earthquake.