The roof of a church has collapsed in northern Mexico during a Sunday mass, killing at least nine people and injuring around 50, authorities said as searchers probed in the wreckage late into the night looking for survivors and other victims.

Approximately 30 parishioners were believed to have been trapped in the rubble when the roof caved in, officials said. Searchers crawled under the roof slabs and officials brought in dogs to help search for possible survivors.

The Tamaulipas state police said about 100 people were in the church at the time of the collapse.

READ MORE: Bushfires continue to burn in Victoria's Gippsland region

The state security spokesman's office said late on Sunday that nine people had been confirmed dead from the collapse, which it described as likely being caused by "a structural failure".

Tamaulipas state police said units of the National Guard, the state police and state civil defence office and the Red Cross were involved in the operation.

The Mexican Council of Bishops issued a statement saying that "we join in prayer at the tragic loss of life and those injured".

Bishop José Armando Alvarez of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tampico said the roof caved in while parishioners were receiving communion at the Santa Cruz church in the Gulf Coast city of Ciudad Madero, next to the port city of Tampico.

The diocese later posted a list of about 50 people who had been hospitalised as a result of the accident.

They included a four-month-old baby, three five-year-olds and two nine-year-olds. There was no immediate information on their conditions.

READ MORE: Woman seriously injured in South Australia shark attack

The number of young victims — police officers said three of the dead were children — may have been due to the fact that baptisms were to take place at the church.

"We lament the painful loss of people who were there celebrating the baptism of their children," Alvarez wrote.

At the same time, there were signs of hope.

"From underneath the rubble, thanks to Divine Providence and the work of the rescue teams, people have been pulled out alive!" Alvarez's diocese wrote in a statement posted on social media accounts.

"Let's keep praying!"

He also called on anyone who had wood to donate to bring it to the church, apparently to shore up the roof while rescue teams crawled inside.

Photos published by local media showed what appeared to be a concrete and brick structure, with parts of the roof fallen almost to the ground. Security camera footage from about a block away showed the unusual, gabled roof simply collapsed downward.

Walls did not appear to have been blown outward, nor was there any indication of an explosion, or anything other than simple structural failure.

READ MORE: At least one killed in bomb attack in Turkey

The roof appeared to be made of relatively thin poured concrete, and photos distributed by state authorities showed the roof slab resting on the top of pews in some parts of the church. That left open the possibility there were air spaces for any survivors.

"At this time, the necessary work is being performed to extract the people who are still under the rubble," Alvarez said in a taped message.

"Today we are living through a very difficult moment."

Video distributed by the state civil defense office showed the outer edges of the roof propped up by short wooden blocks.

It also showed initial efforts to lift off parts of the collapsed roof closer to the ground, in the centre of the church, with a crane. But the office said the efforts to lift roof sections were abandoned because of the danger that a chunk of the now-crumbling slab might fall back and endanger any survivors.

The video described how officials had reverted to manual rescue efforts, apparently sending rescuers under the slab with wood props or hydraulic jacks to reach those trapped underneath. Specially trained dogs also were sent into the rubble to detect survivors.

The civil defence office said the dogs did not initially appear to detect signs of survivors, so an older method was implemented that had been used in past earthquakes: sending rescue teams into the rubble to shout and listen for signs of any response.

Building collapses are common in Mexico during earthquakes, but the National Seismological Service did not report any seismic activity strong enough to cause such damage at the time of the collapse. Nor was there any immediate indication of an explosion.

Ciudad Madero is about 500 kilometres south of Brownsville, Texas. Tamaulipas is known for drug cartel violence, but Ciudad Madero is in the southern part of the state near neighbouring Veracruz state and has been less touched by the violence.

Two adults and four children have died after a car and road train collided south of Darwin in an unprecedented horror North Territory crash.

NT Police said a 2009 Mitsubishi Pajero with registration CD56WW was travelling northbound on the Stuart Highway near Pine Creek in Katherine on Friday when it veered into the southbound lane and collided head-on with a road train carrying mangoes.

Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said officers believe there were four children and two adults in the Pajero at the time of the crash.

READ MORE: Rising house prices a giant headache for new RBA governor

The driver and passenger of the road train managed to escape before a "fireball" erupted between the truck and car.

The pair tried to save the six people but couldn't help due to the blaze.

The six people in the Pajero died at the scene.

The two men in the road train were taken to hospital where they remain with serious injuries

"The psychological injuries they will carry for the rest of their lives is phenomenal," Murphy said.

READ MORE: Two dead of suspected overdoses at Sydney music festival

Shaw's Darwin Transport, the two men's employer, said it is arranging support for the pair and their families.

"One of our trucks with two drivers travelling from Darwin to Perth was involved in a particularly destructive and tragic accident when an oncoming vehicle veered into the path of our vehicle and it was confirmed late yesterday that six people lost their lives in this accident," Shaw's said in a statement.

"This is a deeply traumatic event, particularly for those involved and their immediate workplace colleagues."

Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner said the road train was carrying 10,000 litres of fuel at the time of the crash which contributed to the enormous blaze.

Police are working to identify the people inside the Pajero.

"The intensity of the fire meant there were little human remains left," Lindner said.

Using DNA analysis by forensics, Murphy said officers hope to know the identities of the occupants by Thursday.

Anyone who hasn't heard from their loved one is urged to contact police.

READ MORE: At least 13 killed in Spain nightclub inferno

Murphy said officers are looking at a range of causes for the crash including fatigue, distraction and alcohol.

The speed limit on the highway is 130km/h.

"It is very upsetting, it is very distressing," he added.

"We have never seen anything quite like it."

Nineteen people have lost their lives on Northern Territory roads so far this year.

The tycoon is selling his 12-bedroom Beverly Hills home after buying it from actor Danny DeVito five years ago.

The parents of a two-year-old boy who was hit and killed by a car outside of a religious festival in Melbourne have remembered their son as adorable and loved by his community.

Khat Siam lost his life three weeks before his third birthday after the accident at the Zomi community harvest festival at the New Hope Baptist Church car park.

Major crash investigators were called to the scene in Blackburn North at about 7.15pm on Saturday. 

READ MORE: Teen almost loses hand after alleged machete attack in Melbourne

The driver stopped at the scene and assisted police with their enquiries before he was released pending further enquiries.

Family friend Tunsawmkhai Zokhai said it was an "unthinkable event and accident" for the couple, who had escaped Burma and recently became Australian citizens.

"It is so difficult to bear this grief but we are proud of him and ourselves," the boy's mother Cing Khaw Nuam said.

"We did everything we could for him."

His mother said her son was "quiet, clever and loved Thomas the Tank Engine", while his father said they had a special father-son bond.

Police are working to establish how the tragedy happened, while the community is rallying behind the family and the driver.

"We feel so, so bad for him," Zokhai said.

One year on from the Kanjuruhan football stadium disaster that killed more than 130 people in Indonesia, families of the victims are calling on authorities to reopen investigations and declare the incident "a serious human rights violation".

Video footage aired by CNN affiliate CNN Indonesia showed emotional scenes as families gathered at the National Police Headquarters in the capital Jakarta on Wednesday to demand justice.

Families, many of whom had traveled to Jakarta from Malang Regency where the tragedy took place, wore black T-shirts with the message "Never Forget, 1 October, 2022", and carried photos of deceased loved ones.

READ MORE: US House passes spending bill to avert government shutdown

Some 135 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in a crush as crowds rushed for the exits following a clash between fans and police that saw security forces fire tear gas within the stadium. Investigations by government-sanctioned fact-finding teams concluded the crush was primarily caused by police shooting tear gas at spectators.

But until now, only five people – three police officers and two organisers – have been put on trial. Families have criticised their prison sentences – of between one and two years – as being too light.

"(Our) hope is for justice … harsh as possible punishment for the 135 lives lost," said one woman demonstrating outside the police HQ who lost her daughter in the fatal crush.

Similar gatherings took place on Monday, when dozens visited the offices of Komnas HAM, a state human rights institution.

"The Kanjuruhan tragedy was a gross human rights violation," said Imam Hidayat, a spokesperson for the Kanjuruhan Tragedy Advocacy Team, who called on the Attorney General's Office to form an independent team to investigate the tragedy.

"There is a conflict of interest if the investigation is done by police," he said.

Also among the demonstrators was a man named Daniel, whose daughter Elvi Duali died at the stadium. "It isn't fair," Daniel said. "Even after a year, we (the victims' families) still have not received justice."

Located in East Java, the Kanjuruhan Stadium was used mostly for soccer matches, with a supposed capacity of 38,000 spectators.

But there were around 42,000 tickets sold for the game on October 1, 2022, when one of the worst disasters in the sport's history unfolded.

A clash between a number of Arema FC fans and police prompted security forces to fire tear gas into enclosed areas of the stadium. Panicked fans then attempted to flee the choking smoke, triggering a crush at the exits.

Many of those killed were trampled to death or died from asphyxiation and other breathing problems, officials said.

Among the dead were 33 children, including one as young as 3.

Survivor accounts emerged alleging excessive force by armed riot police officers kicking and beating people at the scene.

President Joko Widodo has said the stadium would be demolished and rebuilt. But one year on and the building still stands, largely abandoned, with graffiti and posters condemning the tragedy.

Rights groups told CNN that "a year had pass but nothing had changed since the tragedy."

"The ongoing legal process still does not fulfil a sense of justice for victims or their families," said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia.

Peters called Tame a “dirt merchant” during the tense interview.

Watercare has completed designs for a bypass and will begin laying pipes tomorrow.

One person, who was not in the police vehicle, received minor injuries.

Pilots dropped 100 tonnes of chalk in order to restore the massive monument.

There are reports of serious injuries, and an ambulance is on the scene.