Death toll in Mexico rises to 39 after Hurricane Otis

Authorities in Mexico announced Saturday that the death toll from the Category 5 Hurricane Otis has risen to 39.

Mexico Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez said to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in a message posted to X that the deaths were likely caused by “suffocation by submersion.”  

Investigations are still ongoing regarding the deaths. 

Rodríguez also told Obrador in the message that there are about 10 people missing and many are still waiting to hear from their loved ones, according to The Associated Press.  

Government workers and volunteers have cleared the streets in Acapulco and some families have been able to get access to food and gas. 

One military official told the outlet that officials in his area had found at least six dead bodies.

President Obrador announced that the national electric company informed him that service had been resumed to over half of the customers in the hit area. 

However, more than 200,000 homes and businesses still don't have power.