London, Dec 7 (IANS): At least one of the 43 Mexican students who went missing in Guerrero state in Mexico in September has been identified from the charred remains of the bodies, media reported Sunday.

Remains of Alexander Mora, one of the 43 students, were identified by forensic experts, BBC reported.

A family member of Mora confirmed that the remains identified were his.

Forty-three students from the Ayotzinapa Normal School, a teachers training college, went missing in Iguala, in the state of Guerrero, Sep 26.

They had travelled from Ayotzinapa to Iguala to protest against what they said were discriminatory employment practices of teachers favouring urban students over rural ones.

According to investigators, they clashed with the police, who arrested them and then handed them over to the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel.

Attorney General Jesus Murillo had earlier told the families that the Guerreros Unidos cartel members had confessed to have killed and burnt the bodies of the students.

Authorities had sent the ashes found at the site where the bodies were apparently burnt to a forensic laboratory in Austria.

The students' disappearance has triggered widespread protests across Mexico against corruption and violence.

The unrest has seen President Enrique Pena Nieto's popularity rating drop to its lowest point since he took office two years ago.

More than 70 other people have been arrested in connection with the disappearances.