Mormon missionaries safe in Mexico after major earthquake

Photo above: People stands in the street as an earthquake shakes Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake has shaken south and central Mexico, causing people to flee buildings and office towers in the country's capital, and setting off quake alert systems. (AP Photo/Bernandino Hernandez)

SALT LAKE CITY — All Mormon missionaries serving in Mexico are safe after a major earthquake struck that nation on Friday, according to Daniel Woodruff, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the state of Oaxaca near the town of Pinotepa Nacional at 5:39 p.m. local time, according to the New York Times, which means the LDS missions most affected were the Mexico Cuernavaca Mission and the Mexico Oaxaca Mission.

A magnitude-5.8 aftershock followed the initial shock nearly an hour later.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries, but the tremors that left tall buildings swaying for minutes stoked memories of a Sept. 19 earthquake that killed more than 300 people, according to the Washington Post.