At least 45 bags containing human remains were found in a ravine in the western Mexican state of Jalisco during a search for seven young people reported missing last week, local authorities said on Thursday.

“Forty-five bags with human remains have been extracted that belong to both male and female people,” the state prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The gruesome discovery was made on Tuesday at the bottom of a 40-meter (120-foot) ravine in the municipality of Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara, a large industrial hub.

The authorities had launched a search for two women and five men, all aged around 30 years, who had been reported missing since May 20.

The missing persons’ reports for each one had been made separately on different days, but investigators found that they all worked at the same call center.

The call center was in the same area as where the human remains were discovered.

Forensic experts have yet to determine the number of victims and their identities.

Initial inquiries suggested the call center could have been involved in illegal activities, and local media reported that the authorities had found marijuana, a cloth and a cleaning rag with apparent blood stains as well as documents on possible commercial activities.

But relatives of the missing persons have accused the authorities of seeking to criminalise the victims.

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