At least 28 badly burned bodies recovered in mass graves in Mexico

The badly burned remains of at least 28 people have been found in mass graves, according to authorities in southern Mexico searching for 43 students missing since clashing with police in September, the Guardian reports.

The bodies were covered in petrol and burned before they were buried, Guerrero state attorney general Iñaky Blanco Cabrera told reporters on Sunday, and it could take between two weeks and two months to identify them.

The bodies are feared to be those of students from a famously radical teacher training college who went missing last month after they clashed with corrupt local police.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, local officials said that at least 34 bodies had been buried at six burial pits discovered in rugged terrain about 2km from the nearest road.

Lawyer Vidulfo Rosales said relatives of 37 of the missing young people already had provided DNA samples that will be used to determine if the recovered remains belong to any of the students.