MEXICAN authorities have recovered the body of a second Spaniard killed in the earthquakes which have devastated the North American country this month.
The death toll has so far risen to 442, of whom 344 lost their lives in the second quake on September 19 – 186 of them in México DF, the capital – with the remaining 98 perishing in the first tremor on September 7.
Jorge Gómez Varo, a quantity surveyor from Málaga, had been at work in the México DF branch of the firm Valora Consultores, which has its head office in the region of Galicia, north-western Spain.
He had lived in the Mexican capital for some time and was employed by the company.
His female colleague telephoned for help, alerting authorities that the two of them were still alive.
But the building collapsed, and Jorge was trapped on the second floor, which was extremely difficult for rescue workers to reach.
Heavy plant donated by Spanish companies based in the city had to be used to shift huge planks of concrete weighing several tonnes.
To free Jorge's body, the military had to saw through concrete layers with heavy-duty machinery, clear rubble and prop up walls – a delicate operation which put the rescuers' own lives at risk.
Jorge's age has not been revealed, but he is thought to be in his 20s or 30s.
He is the second Spanish victim of the quakes, the second of which reached 7.1 on the Richter scale, along with Ciudad Real-born Leopoldo Nieto Cisneros.
Dr Nieto Cisneros, 53, who had grown up in Madrid and lived for around 30 years in México, was a GP and prominent HIV researcher.
Around 10 Spaniards were known to be missing after the tremors, but all others have been found alive.
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