Pop star Shawn Mendes and his manager have donated $100,000 (£74,000) to benefit the victims of the deadly earthquake in central Mexico.
The Mercy singer was in Mexico City preparing to perform when the 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit on Tuesday (19Sep17), prompting Shawn and his team to make a quick escape.
"The whole building was shaking pretty severely, but we were fortunate to be somewhere that was structurally sound enough to withstand it," he writes in an email to The Associated Press. "At first I didn't know what was happening, and then pretty quickly, after about 30 seconds, I clued in that it was an earthquake. Shortly after that we heard sirens and the emergency evacuation announcements from the hotel, and were able to make it down to the street safely."
"There were just so many people out on the streets trying to stay safe and that had been evacuated from buildings, and as we were walking saw quite a few buildings that had collapsed facades, windows shattering on the streets," he adds.
Shawn has now launched a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe's Crowdrise platform, through which he made his own donation, which will go to the American Red Cross to provide disaster relief in Mexico.
The Canadian star is also hoping to return to Mexico City "as soon as possible".
"It is an incredible city and the people there are so strong and resilient," he continues.
Mendes is not the only celebrity lending his support to the country's residents in the aftermath of the tragedy - Mexican actress Salma Hayek has also pledged $100,000 (£74,000) to UNICEF's earthquake relief efforts, while Colombian pop superstar Shakira is also urging fans to give what they can.
