- Title: MEXICO: Authorities say bodies found in drug gang dump are being identified
- Date: 9th June 2010
- Summary: TAXCO, GUERRERO, MEXICO (JUNE 8, 2010) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF VALLEY WHERE MINE IS LOCATED SIGN READING: "HACIENDA SAN FRANCISCO CUADRA" MINE ENTRANCE WITH FORBIDDEN ACCESS TAPE / POLICE TAPE VARIOUS OF MINE ENTRANCE CHILPANCINGO, GUERRERO, MEXICO (JUNE 8, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ALBERTICO GUINTO, ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE STATE OF GUERRERO, SAYING: "We have interviewed 53 families and they have donated genetic samples, to compare them to the bodies we have found and we are also working to get genetic samples to compare them to see if they do belong to the people they are looking for." TAXCO, GUERRERO, MEXICO (JUNE 8, 2010) (REUTERS) STRIKE FLAG OUTSIDE MINE CHILPANCINGO, GUERRERO, MEXICO (JUNE 8, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF CIVIL PROTECTION (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CARLOS AMEZCUA, THE HEAD OF EMERGENCY SERVICES IN THE GUERRERO STATE, SAYING: "It was a really shocking site to see the bodies piled up, to see those 55 bodies piled up, some of them underwater and we found them on top of each other, that's how we found them and, well, the place as well. The people in the mine were found thanks to intelligence work." TAXCO, GUERRERO, MEXICO (JUNE 8, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MINE ENTRANCE CHILPANCINGO, GUERRERO, MEXICO (JUNE 8, 2010) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CARLOS AMEZCUA, THE HEAD OF EMERGENCY SERVICES IN THE GUERRERO STATE, SAYING: "We have identified four bodies and they have already been returned to their relatives. Their names are Jose Luis Gomez O, Gilberto Hernandez R., Daniel Bravo M., who was the former warden of the jail in Iguala Guerrero and Alejandro Perez S." VARIOUS OF MORGUE TAXCO, GUERRERO, MEXICO (JUNE 8, 2010) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF MINE
- Embargoed: 24th June 2010 05:33
- Keywords:
- Location: Mexico
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVAD4JIQVNE6SOGEAQ97315XIH1
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Authorities in Mexico are busy at work trying to identify dozens of bodies found in an abandoned mine suspected of being used by drug gangs as a dumping ground for their victims.
Police discovered 55 corpses, including the warden of a nearby jail, pulled from the bottom of a 500-foot (150-metre) deep air shaft at the Concha mine in Taxco, a pretty colonial town in western Mexico.
As of Saturday, 55 bodies had been pulled out of the mine, some in advanced stages of decomposition, the state attorney general's office said in a statement.
Officials have been rappelling into the mine shafts to look for bodies since the first ones were found May 29, and have 10 more ducts to explore.
"We have interviewed 53 families and they have donated genetic samples, to compare them to the bodies we have found and we are also working to get genetic samples to compare them to see if they do belong to the people they are looking for," said Albertico Guinto, attorney general for the state of Guerrero.
Carlos Amezcua, the head of emergency services in the Guerrero state who participated in the recovery effort, said the discovery of the bodies was shocking.
"It was a really shocking site to see the bodies piled up, to see those 55 bodies piled up, some of them underwater and we found them on top of each other, that's how we found them and, well, the place as well. The people in the mine were found thanks to intelligence work."
Amezcua said four bodies have been recognised.
"We have identified four bodies and they have already been returned to their relatives. Their names are Jose Luis Gomez O, Gilberto Hernandez R., Daniel Bravo M., who was the former warden of the jail in Iguala Guerrero and Alejandro Perez S."
Tens of thousands have died since President Felipe Calderon launched an army-led crackdown on drug gangs soon after he took office in late 2006. Most have been killed in clashes between rival cartels fighting for drug smuggling routes to the United States, the No. 1 consumer of Mexican narcotics.
Quaint towns like Taxco, founded in the early 1600s and featuring silver crafts and religious festivals that attract thousands of visitors each year, are increasingly drawn into the violence concentrated along the U.S.-Mexico border. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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