Death toll climbs to 273 in central Mexico quake

Affected people rest in a shelter after an earthquake in Mexico City, on Sept 20, 2017. Elements from the civil protection corps, Red Cross, army, police and voluntary civilians worked through the day on Wednesday to remove rubble from collapsed buildings in Mexico City, after the magnitude-7.1 earthquake shook the center of the country on Tuesday. [Photo/Xinhua]

MEXICO CITY - The death toll from Tuesday's 7.1-magnitude earthquake in central Mexico has climbed to 273, the government said on Thursday.

Half of those deaths occurred in the capital Mexico City, where nearly 40 buildings collapsed.

According to a release from the national civil protection agency, 137 people were killed in the capital, 73 in Morelos state, 43 in Puebla state, 13 in the State of Mexico, six in Guerrero state and one person in Oaxaca state.