The Bermuda Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation is closely monitoring developments in Mexico City, host of the Central American & Caribbean Championships of Bodybuilding & Fitness, which was devastated by a deadly earthquake on Tuesday.

The championships are scheduled to be held from September 29 to October 1 at the Ferrocarrilero Theatre, with Bermuda’s 13-member team among the competitors.

However, as of yesterday it remained unclear whether the event will go ahead as planned, with the rescue and recovery efforts continuing in the wake of the magnitude-7.1 earthquake that killed more than 200 people and toppled homes, schools and apartment buildings.

“The BBFF is aware of the earthquake that hit Mexico yesterday,” Mark Simons, the BBFF president, said.

“There’s not much we can do other than await word from CAC as to how things will proceed.

“We’re sure the Mexico City officials responsible for the event will review the area where the event is due to take place to ensure the infrastructure is safe and capable of hosting the hundreds of people CAC brings.

“As soon as the BBFF gets any word from CAC, we’ll inform our competitors and officials right away. In the meantime, we stay focused on our prep for the competition.”

The earthquake struck near the town of Raboso in Puebla, about 76 miles southeast of Mexico City and by yesterday the death toll has risen to 225.

Most of the deaths have been reported in Mexico City, where at least 94 people were killed.

Forty per cent of Mexico City is without electricity, with the city’s mayor confirming that 44 buildings fell in the capital alone.

The violent earthquake struck on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 earthquake that killed 10,000 in Mexico City and just two weeks after a magnitude 8.1 tremor in the south of the country killed more than 90 and caused buildings in Mexico City to sway for more than a minute.

Representing Bermuda at the CAC Championships are Jefta Miller, Kyle Santucci, Shaqir Richards, Alex Chum, Sheldon Effs, Julian Johnson, Bernard Opoku, Sunder Singh, Arlene Basden, Kai Miller, Tiffanie Smith, Sabrina Burgess and Melissa Smith.

Johnson, Melissa Smith and Opoku are the only surviving from the team that took part in the CAC Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, last year.