Canadian officials are assisting the family of a young woman who was badly beaten in Mexico and left lying in a pool of blood in a hotel elevator Saturday, a government spokesman said.
"Our officials in Mexico are providing consular assistance to her and her family and are in contact with Mexican authorities," John Babcock, spokesman for Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy, said in an emailed statement.
"Our thoughts are with the badly injured Canadian and her family during this difficult time."
Mexican news website noroeste.com reports the woman was discovered severely beaten in the elevator of the Hotel Riu in Punta Cerritos. The resort is located in Mexico's Mazatlan region, a popular tourist destination.
According to the site, the woman may have been assaulted in a hotel room and then dragged to the elevator. She was reportedly turned away by two private clinics before she was taken to a hospital in serious condition.
Citing police reports, noroeste.com says the unidentified woman is between 25 and 27 years old, about five feet, eight inches tall, with a light complexion and brown hair. She was wearing a hotel wristband on her right hand when other hotel guests found her in the elevator.
Police are said to be tightlipped about the investigation.
There have been more reports of violence involving Canadians visiting Mexico in recent weeks.
Salih Abdulaziz Sahbaz, a Canadian citizen originally from Iraq, was gunned down last week in an area of Mexico known for drug violence.
Last month, the body of Ximena Osequeda, a Vancouver resident and student, was found on a beach in Huatulco, south of Acapulco, while Robin Wood of Salt Spring Island, B.C., was killed when he confronted two robbery suspects.
The Canadian government has issued travel warnings for Mexico due to increasing gang and drug-related violence.
