45 bags filled with human remains found in Mexico; search continues

At least 45 bags containing human remains were found in a ravine in the western Mexican state of Jalisco during a search for seven young people who disappeared last week.

The horrifying discovery was made at the bottom of a 40-metre (120-foot) ravine in the municipality of Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara, a major industrial hub.

“Forty-five bags with human remains have been extracted that belong to both male and female people,” the state prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

Authorities discovered the remains while searching for two women and five men in their thirties who had gone missing in the area since May 20.

The missing person reports for each of the seven were filed on separate days, but investigators found that they all worked at the same call centre, which was located in the same area where the human remains were discovered.

The number of victims or their identities has yet to be determined.

Initial investigation indicates that the call centre may have been involved in illegal activities, and local media reported that authorities found marijuana, a cloth and a cleaning rag with blood stains, as well as documents pertaining to possible commercial activities.

Authorities stated that some of the human remains found in the bags matched the characteristics of some of the missing young people.

Meanwhile, firefighters and civil defence are working together to recover the remains from the gorge, and the effort is expected to continue in the coming days.

According to federal government data, over 110,000 people have gone missing in Mexico, with Jalisco having the highest number, at 15,000 people.

Thousands of unidentified remains have also been discovered in mortuaries and cemeteries across the country.