Mexican church seen in drought, disappears during rainy seasons

The Santiago Apóstol temple was built in the mid-1600s. [Photo: Mirror]

A church dating back to the 17th century has emerged from the waters of a reservoir in southern Mexico.

The place of worship has been submerged for more than 50 years but has appeared once again due to drought.

A lack of rainfall has cause the facade of the Santiago Apóstol temple to appear in the Nezahualcóyotl reservoir on the Grijalva river.

Mexico is currently being blighted by drought and water levels in this reservoir area have plummeted.

The church will disappear again in the rainy season. [Photo: Mirror]

The church was built by Dominican friars in the town of Quechula in the mid-1600s.

But it was completely submerged by water when the Nezahualcóyotl dam was built in 1966.

Residents were forced to relocate after a number of villages were flooded.

The treasures of wealthy landowners are said to be buried under the sand.

This marks the third time the temple has emerged from the depths since the dam was constructed.

Despite being under water since the late 60s the facade is still in good condition.

But some of the walls did collapse during the 8.2-magnitude earthquake which hit Chiapas in September 2017.

Local resident Antonio González Hernández told news agency EE: "It's now falling to pieces.

“Five years ago [the structure] was intact. The bell tower was still in optimal condition.”

Antonio says the rainy season will cause the church to disappear again.

The last time the temple appeared was in 2015 during severe drought.