38 bodies found at Mexico dumping ground

Authorities have found the remains of at least 38 people in a series of pits and scattered on the ground at a suspected drug-gang dumping site near the industrial hub of Monterrey in northern Mexico, an official said.

Investigators were using heavy equipment to search for more bodies at the rural site outside Mexico's third-largest city, local media said. Photographs showed charred spots on the soil suggesting some bodies may have been partially burned.Nuevo Leon state Attorney General Alejandro Garza y Garza said officials still had to inspect three more pits for bodies. He said 36 of the victims found so far are men and two are women.

The state attorney general's office in Nuevo Leon state, where Monterrey is located, said more heavy equipment was being brought in to search the ground and pits where the remains were found.

The bodies were too badly decomposed for immediate identification, the office said.

The clandestine grave site, which was discovered Thursday, was believed to have been used by drug gangs that operate in the area.

Nearly 25,000 people have been killed in Mexico since the government launched an offensive against drug cartels in late 2006.


NZHerald: