Mexico: Religious group members drown during immersion

A rapid river current swept away 15 members of a religious group in Mexico, drowning at least nine, a state civil protection official said.

A total of 25 adherents of the Universal Christian Church were immersed in the Cuiztla River about 10am local time yesterday when the river rose suddenly and the swift current carried them downstream, said Oscar Gilberto Barragan, an official with the civil protection department in Jalisco state.

At least nine bodies, including a 10-month-old and a 63-year-old woman, had been recovered by rescue workers, Barragan said. Three victims had not yet been identified and six were still missing.

The victims belonged to a group of 60 church members who were camping alongside the river in Rancho Ixcamilpa, about 65 kilometres northeast of the Guadalajara, Barragan said.

Dozens of rescuers, police and firefighters searched for the missing members on the ground while two helicopters flew along the length of the river.

Barragan said authorities did not expect to find any survivors.

Officials did not know what caused the sudden rise in the river.

Barragan said one theory is that a dam upstream may have opened, but he said the cause was still under investigation.