By IANS
Guadalajara (Mexico) : At least 11 members of a religious group were killed when a river rose without warning in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, the Spanish news agency EFE said.
Earlier, the death toll from the weekend incident was put at nine. However, emergency services personnel recovered two more bodies Monday from the Cuixtla river.
Search continues for four others who have been missing since Saturday when members of the Universal Christian Church camped out along the river were swept away by a sudden surge in the current while they were in the water for a collective baptism.
One of the two bodies recovered Monday was found nearly 10 km from the church’s campsite. The retrieval effort required a helicopter to maintain a stationary position for an extended period.
The drownings took place in the Ixcamilpa region, 70 km northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco’s capital and Mexico’s second-largest city.