Seventeen patients died after a hospital in central Mexico flooded due to torrential rains that forced a river to overflow its banks, the majority of them were suffering from Covid-19.

According to the Mexican government, more than 40 other patients in a public hospital in Tula, Hidalgo state, were evacuated by emergency personnel on Tuesday. An initial assessment revealed that about 2,000 homes had been flooded.

Omar Fayad, the governor of Hidalgo, told local media that Covid-19 patients accounted for 15 or 16 of the 17 fatalities.

According to reports, the deaths occurred when the Tula river overflowed due to days of rain, knocking out power at the hospital.

Fayad posted photographs on social media showing panicked nurses pushing beds out of the hospital in an attempt to get patients to safety. Water was up to their knees in several of the nurses.

Patients, some of whom were intubated, were also transported out into speedboats, as shown on video.

On Twitter, President Andrés Manuel López Obradorr advised citizens in danger to seek shelter, higher ground, or seek help from friends or relatives. “There has been a lot of rain in the Valley of Mexico, and it will continue to rain,” he stated.