Mexico gas explosion: DNA testing to identify newborn babies found in rubble

Plunged into chaos just hours after entering this world, nine babies found alive after a gas blast in a Mexican maternity hospital underwent DNA tests on Friday in a bid to reunite them with their parents.

Thursday's blast devastated the hospital on the western edge of Mexico City, sending a fireball into the air and killing a nurse and two infants. But dozens of people, including mothers and newborns, who were inside at the time survived, many cut by broken glass.

"We have nine DNA tests pending," Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said. "There are parents who have identified their children, but as the babies did not have bracelets on, we have to follow a protocol to identify them."

Mancera said several babies survived because their mothers sheltered them with their own bodies during the blast.

Several babies were found under the rubble. Scores of rescue workers dug through the concrete and twisted metal for survivors.

People seeking information on family members gathered around police lines that were set up to keep bystanders away from the chaotic scene earlier in the day. Some of the injured were evacuated by helicopter, and aerial footage showed firefighters scrambling over the skeletal wreckage of the building.

Ambulances were at the scene to treat survivors. Around 100 people were in the hospital at the time of the explosion, according to a city official.

A leak in a hose from the truck, which was fueling the hospital's tanks, was believed to have triggered the explosion, officials said.

"They tried to stop the leak, but it was not possible," Mancera said. 

Many areas of Mexico City have no mains gas supply, and rely on deliveries from gas trucks. Mancera said the gas truck company involved had been working in Mexico City since 2007.

President Enrique Pena Nieto gave his condolences on Twitter, while Pope Francis urged his Twitter followers to pray for the victims and their families.