At least 138 killed as 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocks Mexico

At least 138 people have been killed after a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico on Tuesday (local time).

The quake hit only hours after many people participated in earthquake drills around the nation on the anniversary of the devastating quake that killed thousands in Mexico City in 1985.

The Mexican government said at least 138 people were dead with that death toll expected to rise.

The 7.1 quake hit eight kilometres southeast of Atencingo in the central state of Puebla at a depth of 51 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

"I'm so worried. I can't stop crying. It's the same nightmare as in 1985," one resident in a plaza in the capital, Georgina Sanchez said.

The US Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 7.1. Mexico's Seismological Institute said it measured 6.8 on its scale, but later revised it to 7.1.

The institute said the quake's epicenter was seven kilometres (four miles) west of Chiautla de Tapia, in the neighboring state of Puebla.