Missing Mexican Band: Survivor Tells Of Attack

The survivor of a deadly attack on a 16-member Colombian-style music group has told authorities how at least 10 gunmen entered a private party and kidnapped the band and four crew members.

A member of the Kombo Kolombia band told police that the 20 hostages were blindfolded before being driven away in a number of vehicles.

The band member then heard gunshots and a conversation about where the assailants would dump the bodies, according to Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene.

Mr Domene said the survivor, who is being protected by soldiers, was able to reach a nearby ranch and get help.

The man later led authorities to a well where searchers found several bodies, Mr Domene said.

"Until yesterday, four bodies had been pulled (from the well) and all indicates that they belonged to this group," Mr Domene told Radio Formula.

Mr Domene said three of the four bodies first pulled from the well were wearing T-shirts with the name of the band, but that authorities were still waiting to officially identify them.

By Monday afternoon, searchers had pulled 10 bodies from the well along a dirt road in the town of Mina, about 140 miles from Laredo, Texas.

The bodies recovered showed signs of torture, an official said.

It was hard to determine how many more bodies were submerged in the water, he said.

Sixteen members of the band Kombo Kolombia and four crew members were reported missing early on Friday after playing at a private party held at a ranch called La Carreta, or The Wagon, in the town of Hidalgo north of Monterrey.

People living near the ranch in Hidalgo reported hearing gunshots at about 4am on Friday, followed by the sound of vehicles speeding away.

Kombo Kolombia played a Colombian style of music known as vallenato, which is popular in working class neighbourhoods in the city of Monterrey and other parts of Nuevo Leon state.

Most of the group's musicians were from the area, though the singer is a Colombian citizen with Mexican residency.