Five of 10 kidnapped miners found dead in Mexico, authorities say

MEXICO CITY, Feb 9 - Mexican authorities have recovered 10 bodies in the search for workers kidnapped last month from a mine run by Canada's Vizsla Silver Corp in Mexico's northern state of Sinaloa, the country's attorney general's office said on Monday.

The attorney general's office said in a statement that it found 10 bodies in the municipality of Concordia, of which five have so far been identified. Forensic teams are working to identify the remaining five bodies, it added.

Relatives of those kidnapped told Reuters that they have not been provided any information by authorities regarding the possible identities of the bodies yet to be identified. Family members are due to meet with local authorities on Tuesday.

A relative of one of the workers said she feared entering Sinaloa, which is beset by violence perpetrated by drug cartels. "We want to go to Sinaloa," she said. "But we have no guarantee that we will be safe. We know about the violence and we are afraid to go."

The group was kidnapped at the end of January from a silver mine in an area security authorities say is under the control of the Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa cartel led by the sons of former drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Earlier on Monday, Mexico's mining chamber confirmed the death of three of the kidnapped miners.

Ignacio Aurelio Salazar, Jose Angel Hernandez and Jose Manuel Castaneda were confirmed dead by local authorities, Mexican mining chamber Camimex said in a statement. Camimex called for an investigation to find who was responsible.

Vancouver-based Vizsla Silver said early on Monday that it was focused on the safe recovery of those still missing and supporting the affected families.

"We are devastated by this outcome and the tragic loss of life," CEO Michael Konnert said.

Vizsla Silver said it would provide further updates as it receives confirmations from Mexican authorities. The company has kept its Panuco mine closed since the kidnapping and company shares were down 12.4% at the close on Monday.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment after authorities identified five of the bodies.

Mexican authorities said on Friday that at least one body found in a clandestine grave in Concordia - some 45 km (28 miles) east of the Pacific coast city of Mazatlan - matched the description of one of the missing miners.

Mexico's government sent more than 1,000 troops, including elite marines, to the area over the weekend to try to locate the missing miners. Authorities arrested four suspects on Thursday in relation to the case.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a press conference on Monday morning that the federal government was in close contact with the workers' families and the mining company.

"We are looking into everything that could have caused this situation," she said. "We hope a situation like this will never happen again."

Relatives from the families of four of the kidnapped miners told Reuters they had not been asked for a ransom, but said workers had told them the area was dangerous due to local crime groups. REUTERS