Women fearful amid kidnap attempts along Mexico's Metro rail

Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Mexican women say they don't feel safe when riding the country's urban mass transportation rail system, known as Metro, after several recent kidnapping attempts and other crimes.

City prosecutors said there have been ten recent kidnap attempts, but none successful so far. Authorities are working to identify perpetrators based on descriptions provided by victims, El Universal reported. There are ten open investigations and 84 people have been questioned.

Authorities have identified seven stations where the attempts have occurred, prosecutor Ernestina Godoy said. Another attempt was recently reported at a different station, El Universal reported.

Five charges were also filed by women last weekend related to incidents on the Metro system, El Universal's report said. In one, a man was said to be taking photos with a cellphone.

Protesters demonstrated in Mexico City Sunday over the rise of kidnap attempts. El Espectador reported thousands of women organized the demonstrations to ask Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to address the threat and improve safety on the public transit system.

Lopez Obrador said he's concerned about violence in the country, which includes the killing of police and political crimes, Reforma reported. It's been estimated as many as nine women are killed every day in Mexico.

Lopez Obrador, who took office in December, said recently one problem is the disproportionately low number of Mexican police. Last month, he announced the recruitment of 50,000 civilians as part of a new National Guard.

Mexico's Metro has 195 stations and was built about 50 years ago.