Comalapa Air Force Base - A third man survived last month's massacre of 72 migrants by suspected drug traffickers in Mexico and is now in the United States, Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes said Sunday.

"We know of a Salvadoran who is in the United States and who fortunately avoided getting killed," Funes said. "His testimony will be key in solving the case."

Mexico has said 77 people were in the group of Central and South American migrants who were abducted and held at a ranch in the northern state of Tamaulipas, which has been embroiled in a vicious turf battle between the Zetas gang and its former employer, the Gulf cartel.

The Attorney General's Office said Friday the number included the 72 people who were found dead, two who were known to have escaped and three Mexicans whose whereabouts were unknown.

Funes announced the existence of the third survivor Sunday during a ceremony to receive the bodies of 11 Salvadorans killed in the massacre, but gave no give further details.