Authorities in Mexico confirmed that eight bodies that floated onto a beach over the weekend those of Chinese migrants. The group is believed to have drowned while being moved further into the country after entering from Guatemala.

The incident began on Friday on the coast of Oaxaca in the area known as Istmo de Tehuantepec, when several bodies washed ashore at Vicente Beach. The bodies were that of seven women and one man. Another man who was in the boat managed to survive and was undergoing medical care.

Over the weekend, the Oaxaca Attorney General’s Office released a short statement confirming that the bodies were those of Chinese migrants. Authorities claimed that the group had left the Mexican border city of Tapachula, Chiapas, on a raft on Thursday. Along the journey, the boat capsized.

Since then, Mexican authorities revealed that they have been in contact with Chinese officials in an attempt to identify and repatriate the bodies.

The drowning comes as the immigration issue has sparked much controversy in Mexico since President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador recently said in an interview with 60 Minutes that he was willing to solve the migrant crisis if the United States would pay billions each year.

Currently, there is a migrant caravan of Central American migrants moving through Mexico on their way north. As Breitbart Texas has reported, those migrants are being escorted by Mexican authorities.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

Williams Cortez from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.