MEXICO CITY, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's army has found the bodies of four soldiers buried by a mudslide in the southern state of Guerrero over the weekend, the Defense Ministry said on Monday.
The discovery brings the total number of deaths so far to six, with the first two victims, also soldiers, discovered immediately following the natural disaster early Saturday in El Carrizal, a community in the town of San Miguel Totolapan.
Members of the first battalion of the military police were carrying out patrols when they were swept away "by an avalanche of mud, rocks, and branches," following days of heavy rains.
Another soldier was injured and taken to the regional military hospital in the state capital Chilpancingo.
Search and rescue teams remain in the area, looking for the remaining missing.
Before the four bodies were found Sunday, Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos said seven soldiers were unaccounted for.
"My sincerest condolences to the families of the two soldiers who regrettably died in the line of duty on June 10, 2017, as they were swept away along with seven more soldiers," Cienfuegos posted to Twitter.
Troops were originally dispatched to San Miguel Totolapan in May, after clashes between rival criminal gangs vying for control of the area.
