5 Canadian mining company workers found dead in Mexico, authorities confirm

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities said Monday that five of the 10 missing workers from a mine operated by a Canadian company in the northwestern state of Sinaloa have been identified among 10 bodies found in clandestine graves last week in a nearby community.

The Attorney General's Office said in a statement that the remaining bodies were still awaiting identification.

Vancouver-based Vizsla Silver Corp. said in a statement earlier Monday that it “has been informed by a number of families that their relatives, our colleagues, who were taken from the company’s project site in Concordia, Mexico, have been found deceased.”

The company said it was still awaiting confirmation from Mexican authorities. Neither the company nor Mexican authorities have commented on what a possible motive could be.

“We are devastated by this outcome and the tragic loss of life,” said Vizsla President and CEO Michael Konnert. "Our focus remains on the safe recovery of those who remain missing and on supporting all affected families and our people during this incredibly difficult time.”

Mexican authorities on Friday announced the discovery of bodies and remains in an area of the ongoing search for 10 missing workers from the Canadian gold and silver mine.

The office also reported the arrests of four people believed to be tied to the workers’ disappearances.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that those suspects had led authorities to the bodies. “Everything is under investigation,” she said.

The mountainous region is one of various points in the state where a turf war has played out for more than a year between two rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel.

On Jan. 28, Vizsla reported the abduction of 10 people from its facilities. It said it had alerted authorities and its crisis management and security response teams were involved in the search.

The federal government increased the number of troops deployed to the state and launched an operation to find the workers.

Mines have been the target of organized crime on other occasions in Mexico, as cartels see opportunities to extort or even sell valuable ore themselves.

On Monday, Sinaloa Gov. Ruben Rocha said that various clandestine graves were located last week, but said the search continued.

Rocha also referred to the abduction of a group of Mexican tourists from Mazatlan last week. He said a woman and child who had been with them were found alive, but four people remained missing.

In Sinaloa, there are more than 7,000 missing people, some of the more than 132,000 missing nationwide, according to federal data.