Mexico City, Jan 14 (AP) Mexican officials said on Saturday they are investigating the reported disappearance of nine Colombian women in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.

The women were apparently working as escorts for a gang that retained their passports, and were sent to an event in the Tabasco city of Cardenas but did not return.

Also Read | Jacinda Ardern Marries Clarke Gayford: New Zealand's Former Prime Minister Ties Knot With Long-Time Partner in Private Ceremony After Years of Delay.

Juan Carlos Castillejo, the spokesman for Tabasco state, said a missing person report had been filed on Friday, a week after the reported disappearances.

Castillejo wrote in his social media accounts that "there is no more information" on the women, but that state prosecutors would investigate the report.

Also Read | Japan: Crack Found on Cockpit Window of ANA Boeing 737-800 Aircraft Mid-Air, Plane Safely Lands at Sapporo-New Chitose Airport.

Castillejo later told the XEVA radio station that the missing persons report had been filed by the Colombian consulate in Mexico. The Colombian embassy and consulate did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to Imagen Television, which first reported the story, the disappearances were reported by other women working in the same conditions.

One of them said the missing women were being held somewhere because of "problems between the bosses", apparently referring to the gang, and that they may have been beaten. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)