MEXICAN authorities have found at least 17 bodies in a ravine in the violent southern state of Guerrero, an official from the attorney general’s office said Tuesday.

    “There were nine complete bodies and eight half-burned,” the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that they were found between Dec. 8 and 11 in the village of Chichihualco.

    The bodies were discovered following an anonymous tip.

    The identities of the corpses, their ages and gender are unknown. Officials also do not know how long ago they died.

    The bodies were hidden behind rocks and bushes at the bottom of the gully, according to Mexican media.

    Investigators have taken DNA samples for 639 people who have missing relatives in the region, the news outlet Milenio reported.

    The residents of Chichihualco are known for their production of handmade footballs but their community is in the middle of one of Mexico’s most dangerous regions.

    The state of Guerrero has suffered years of drug cartel violence as gangs grow opium poppies in remote mountains and battle for control of heroin trafficking routes.

    Across the region, clandestine graves are often found with one or several bodies inside.

    It is in Guerrero that 43 trainee teachers were abducted by corrupt police in the city of Iguala in September 2014 and, according to prosecutors, handed over to a gang that killed them and incinerated their bodies.

    The case shed light on the plight of Mexico’s disappeared amid drug cartel violence that has left some 26,000 people missing and tens of thousands more dead. Hundreds of people have gone missing in Guerrero alone. (SD-Agencies)