(Adds quote, details; previous OAXACA)

JUCHITAN, Mexico, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Twenty-four people believed to be Central American illegal immigrants drowned when their boat sank in bad weather off southern Mexico's Pacific coast on Friday, a local emergency official said.

The 24 bodies washed up on beaches near the town of Juchitan in the state of Oaxaca, civil protection official Sergio Segreste told Reuters.

"There is bad weather in that area and we think that is one of the causes of the sinking," Segreste said.

Most of the dead were men. Police commander Moises Hernandez said at least one woman survived and told police the boat had left Guatemala on Tuesday and ran into trouble due to the weather.

Illegal immigrants from Central America typically cross into Mexico by land on their way to the United States but some make the hazardous journey by boat.

AlertNet news is provided by