Rescue workers pulled three more bodies from ruined homes in northern Mexico on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 34 after flash floods ripped through a normally arid town near the US border.
The surprise floods swept through Piedras Negras, across the Rio Grande river from Texas, early on Monday and washed away people, homes, cars and livestock.
Helicopters searched throughout Tuesday morning for more than a dozen people missing since the flood hit, and they found the bodies of three adults in the rubble of wrecked homes.
"The death count is up to 34 victims," said Marcela Aguirre, a spokesman for the government of Coahuila state, where Piedras Negras is situated.
Patrols stretched as far as 125 miles (200 km) downstream from the town, along the Escondido River that burst its banks after torrential rains.
In Piedras Negras, mourners waited for flood waters to recede so they could bury their dead.
"The water is holding back the burials," said Mayor Claudio Bres. "The town has two private cemeteries and two municipal cemeteries. You can't dig in the municipal cemeteries because the earth is flooded".
Families mourned their dead in town funeral homes, where in some cases coffins were displayed three to a room. Some held wakes in their homes.
The floods left cars perched on top of caved-in buildings in what is normally one of the driest parts of the country. About 300 homes were destroyed in and around Piedras Negras, home to 200,000 people.
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