MEXICO CITY, Jan 4, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Mexican authorities said Wednesday that they had rescued 32 migrants kidnapped while heading for the US border by bus through a northeastern region where criminal gangs operate.

The abduction took place on Saturday in Tamaulipas state, whose highways are considered among the most dangerous in Mexico due to the threat of kidnapping and extortion.

Tamaulipas governor Americo Villareal told Milenio television that nine children were among those kidnapped, including a one-year-old.

He said the majority of the rescued migrants were Venezuelans and some were Hondurans.

Earlier, authorities put the figure at 31.

Presidential spokesman Jesus Ramirez said the migrants were receiving medical care and published photos of them, including a child holding a teddy bear.

The government said earlier that, according to the driver, the bus was intercepted by five vehicles and migrants from countries including Venezuela, Colombia, Honduras and Ecuador were taken away.

The bus had left the city of Monterrey, in the neighboring state of Nuevo Leon, and was headed to Matamoros across the border from Brownsville, Texas.

Abduction by criminal gangs is one of the main dangers facing migrants crossing Mexico, along with other threats including road traffic accidents and extortion by security forces.

With migration surging, in recent weeks US border police have reported around 10,000 crossings by migrants every day.