'Miracle babies': the story of newborns who survived under the rubble in Mexico

'Miracle babies': the story of the babies who survived under the rubble in Mexico
Among the thousands of dead and the buildings reduced to rubble in the earthquake that devastated Mexico City in 1985, an unlikely story moved the country: the rescue of dozens of newborns who survived buried in the maternity wing of a destroyed hospital. They became known as the "miracle babies".
Almost forty years later, one of these survivors revisited the tragedy that marked his own birth. Jesús Francisco Flores, who became known as "Earthquake Boy", told Globo Repórter how he grew up carrying a story that moved generations.
"I was born on the morning of the tragedy that marked Mexico", he said.
'Miracle Babies': the story of the babies who survived under the rubble in Mexico
Reproduction/TV Globo
Jesús was born exactly on the day of the disaster - in extreme circumstances. He says that his mother was just 17 years old and was trapped under the rubble after the hospital collapsed.
Survival came from a desperate act on the part of the family. Three days after the earthquake, the baby's grandmother managed to locate them and, amid the rubble, carried out an improvised procedure to get him out alive.
"My grandmother opened my mother's belly to rescue me on the third day", remembers Jesús.
The mother didn't survive, but the baby survived - in a story that made headlines in the newspapers at the time.
'Miracle babies': the story of the babies who survived under the rubble in Mexico
Reproduction/TV Globo
The tragedy left deep marks on Jesús' life. In total, 24 relatives died in the earthquake.
Even so, he grew up with the awareness that his survival had a greater meaning. Baptized in reference to the family's faith, he believes that his life represents a mission.
"It is something divine to survive a catastrophe. If God let me live, it is to serve", he says.
Today, Jesús works in the area of civil protection and helps guide the population on safety in cases of earthquake.
"Earthquake boy": survivor recalls drama experienced on the day he was born
Reproduction/TV Globo
See the full program in the video below:
Globo Repórter: an expedition through Mexico, the land of Tri - 29.05.2026
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Source: G1