Mexico: River current sweeps away 15, kills 9

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A rapid river current swept away 15 members of a Mexican religious group in western Mexico on Sunday, 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 10 a.m. local time 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-months-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 kilometers northeast of the Guadalajara, Barragan said.