Authorities in Mexico have revealed there was no young girl trapped alive under the rubble of a collapsed school.
The search for 'Frida Sofia' had gripped Mexico and made international headlines in the wake of Tuesday's 7.1 magnitude earthquake that left more than 270 people dead.
It had been widely reported that the 12-year-old girl was trapped in the rubble of the Enrique Rebsamen school in the nation's capital, prompting a massive search by hundreds of volunteers and officials.
The girl had reportedly made contact with schoolmates, and it was widely reported she had been seen 'wiggling her finger'.
Some reports suggested she was trapped alongside two bodies:
Scaner térmico indica que los 2 cuerpos junto con #FridaSofia (niña atrapada en los escombros del colegio #Rébsamen,)parecen estar con vida pic.twitter.com/Gk4EIO8tyg
— EL INFORMADOR (@informador) September 21, 2017
However, it became apparent that there was no Frida Sofia registered at the school.
Officials yesterday confirmed that all children were accounted for.
Navy official Angel Enrique Sarmiento said: “We want to emphasise that we have no knowledge about the report that emerged with the name of a girl."
Search efforts were continuing yesterday evening amid suggestions an adult could still be trapped.
After widespread media and social media coverage of the Frida Sofia search, people expressed anger & frustration over the news that she didn't exist.
Mexican newspaper El Pais reports that one journalist at the scene suggested the incident "played with the feelings of the people at a very delicate time".
