13 security guards kidnapped from a Peruvian gold mine found dead

The bodies of 13 security guards kidnapped from a major Peruvian gold mine just over a week ago were found Sunday, the mining company said.

The Peruvian company, La Poderosa, said that a search and rescue team had recovered the staff members' remains on Sunday. It blamed their abduction on informal miners allegedly linked to criminal gangs who ambushed the gold mine on April 26.

La Poderosa, a private firm based in Peru's capital of Lima, said that criminal groups fighting for control of the mine in Peru's remote northwestern city of Pataz have killed 39 of the company's workers since it began extraction in 1980, including the latest 13.