Relatives and friends of victims attend a catholic mass outside the the Enrique Rebsamen school that collapsed during Tuesday's magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Days after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit central Mexico, residents are in part turning to prayer and spirituality to cope with the devastation.
The earthquake, which hit on Tuesday, severely crippled Mexico City, and has caused major damage in nearby states. About 286 people were reported dead as of Friday, the AP reports, with more than half of those deaths occurring in in the country’s capital city.
In southern Mexico City, 19 children and six adults died after the collapse of the Enrique Rebsámen school building. Eleven children were successfully rescued from the rubble as of Thursday, the AP reports.
Relatives, friends, and rescue workers gathered near the school Thursday evening to participate in a large, outdoor Catholic Mass to remember victims. The priest spoke the names of the dead, and attendees released white balloons with messages for the deceased.
“My brave princess,” one balloon read, “we will always love you.”
A woman talks with a priest two days after the earthquake in Mexico City, Mexico. The earthquake comes 32 years after a magnitude-8.0 earthquake hit on September 19, 1985.
Rosalba Ramirez Vargas, center, with the prayer group 'The Best Friends of Jesus' pray while anxiously waiting for news from rescue crews at Enrique Rebsamen School in Mexico City.
Flowers and a religious image are seen amidst support beams and rubble during the search for students.
At least 25 bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of the school.
Relatives and friends signed balloons with messages after the mass.
A boy writes a message for victims during the service.
People write the names of victims and messages for them on balloons.
A woman is seen reading letters written to remember children who have died during the earthquake.
Flowers are seen during the mass.
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Rescuers, firefighters, policemen, soldiers and volunteers remove rubble and debris.
Rescuers searching for survivors buried under the rubble ask for silence to help locate those who may be trapped.
Rescuers and residents assist an injured victim amid the ruins of a building that was knocked down.
A woman reacts after she and others were rescued.
Workers walk past a collapsed building.
Debris is pictured at the site of a collapsed building.
Rescuers look for survivors in a multistory building.
Rescuers searched into the night for survivors.
Volunteers use shovels to remove debris and search for survivors.
A man stands next to a car crushed by debris from a damaged building after a quake rattled Mexico City on Tuesday.
People remove debris of a collapsed building.
A powerful earthquake shook Mexico City on Tuesday, causing panic among the megalopolis' 20 million inhabitants on the 32nd anniversary of a devastating 1985 quake.
A woman reacts as a real quake rattles Mexico City on Tuesday as an earthquake drill was being held in the capital.
Exterior walls on a building crumbled during the earthquake.
People remove debris of a damaged building.
A woman carrying her baby rushes through the street.
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