Death toll lowered to 52 in Mexican casino attack

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — Rescue workers recovered burned bodies and anxious residents crowded behind yellow police tape Friday waiting to hear if relatives were among the victims of a grisly arson attack on a casino by presumed drug traffickers that killed at least 52 gamblers and employees.

Family members arrived at the morgue all through the night in Monterrey, a modern metropolis and one of Mexico's most important business centers that has recently become the target of increasing drug-related violence.

The armed assailants burst into the casino Thursday afternoon and then poured and ignited gasoline, burning the casino to the ground in what President Felipe Calderon described as the worst attack on innocent civilians