Three foreigners, an American, a Canadian and a British, are among the victims of the hurricane Otis which ravaged Acapulco on the Pacific coast in western Mexico, authorities said Monday, who revised the death toll downward from 48 to 45 deaths.
The three foreigners “were residents, they were not as tourists in the port of Acapulco,” Guerrero state Governor Evelyn Salgado said during the president’s daily press conference.
On Sunday, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that 263 foreigners were in the port at the time of the hurricane on Wednesday, including 34 Americans, 18 French and 17 Cubans.
The same governor contacted by telephone revised downwards the number of victims.
“We deplore so far – according to the preliminary report of the prosecution – the death of 45 people and 47 other people have not yet been located,” declared the governor.
This latest report contradicts a press release issued on Sunday by the federal government reporting 48 dead and six missing.
Questioned about this contradiction, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador denounced the “manipulation” of most of the Mexican media, which he accuses of being at the orders of his political adversaries to discredit him.
“They were like vultures looking for the dead,” he said.
“We will put Acapulco back on its feet,” he promised, detailing the relief operations.
The hurricane, with maximum force 5, hit the city early Wednesday morning, devastating the seaside resort of nearly 780,000 inhabitants, which lives mainly from tourism.