Three foreigners, an American, a Canadian and a Briton, are among the victims of Hurricane Otis that devastated Acapulco on the Pacific coast of western Mexico, authorities said Monday and Tuesday, lowering the death toll to 45 from 48.
• Also read: After Hurricane Otis, aid progress is slow
• Also read: Hurricane in Mexico: Acapulco hopes to get back above water
• Also read: Why did Hurricane Otis form so quickly?
The three foreigners “were residents, they were not in the port of Acapulco as tourists,” Guerrero state Gov. Evelyn Salgado said during the president’s daily news conference.
On Sunday, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said there were 263 foreigners in the port at the time of Wednesday’s hurricane, including 34 Americans, 18 French and 17 Cubans.
AFP
The same governor contacted by telephone revised the number of casualties downward.
“We regret so far – according to the prosecutor’s preliminary report – the deaths of 45 people and 47 others have not yet been located,” the governor explained.
This latest report contradicts a federal government press release on Sunday that reported 48 dead and six missing.
Asked about this contradiction, President Andres Manuel López Obrador denounced the “manipulation” of most Mexican media, which he accused of being at the behest of his political opponents to discredit him.
“They were like vultures looking for the dead,” he said.
“We will get Acapulco back on its feet,” he promised, describing the relief efforts in detail.
AFP
The hurricane with maximum strength 5 hit the city early Wednesday morning and devastated the seaside resort with almost 780,000 inhabitants, which lives mainly from tourism.