SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Mexico police increase search for students

Efforts to find 43 Mexican students who disappeared more than three weeks ago have intensified, authorities say.

Police escort arrested people in the hunt for the missing students.
Mexican authorities have intensified efforts to find 43 students who disappeared three weeks ago. (AAP)

2 min read

Published

Updated


Skip to article content

Mexican authorities have intensified efforts to find 43 students who disappeared more than three weeks ago, using dogs, horses and divers to broaden the search.

About 50 vehicles, carrying some 200 members of a special division of the federal police, arrived in Xonacatla, which is located close to the town of Iguala, where the students disappeared on September 26.

"We are scouring all places that could be of interest," said Manelich Castilla, commissioner for the police division, known as the Gendarmeria Nacional, which is leading the operation.

Authorities on Sunday said the search had been expanded to include bodies of water such as lakes and ponds, as well as in the numerous mines and caves of the mountains around Iguala.

More than 1200 security forces are now looking for the college students around Iguala, a town of 140,000 inhabitants.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Authorities say Iguala's police force shot at buses carrying the students on September 26 and handed them over to officers in the neighbouring town of Cocula, who then delivered them to the Guerreros Unidos drug gang.

Six people died and 25 were wounded that night.

Investigators are analysing the contents of three mass graves found near Iguala after declaring that 28 bodies in one pit did not belong to the students.

President Enrique Pena Nieto has been under pressure at home and abroad to solve the case in the violence-plagued southern state of Guerrero. Hundreds of students have protested in front of the attorney general's office in Mexico City.

Mexican authorities announced on Friday the arrest of the "maximum leader" of a drug gang accused of colluding with crooked police in the disappearance of the students.

A total of 36 municipal officers have been arrested in the case.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world