Seven people, including a seven-year-old child, were killed when gunmen stormed a holiday resort in Mexico.

Armed men shot three men and three women, as well as the child, at the La Palma resort in the small town of Cortazar in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato.

One person was seriously injured in the attack on Saturday afternoon.

The area has been increasingly plagued by drug cartel violence with rival groups battling to control territory and trafficking routes in the state.

Footage shared on social media showed the aftermath of the attack in the resort.

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It showed distressed adults and children in swimsuits walking past dead bodies near a swimming pool but it could not be independently verified.

“After the attack, [the attackers] fled, but not before causing damage to the resort store and taking the security cameras and the monitor,” Cortazar’s security department said in a statement.

Guanajuato, an agricultural and industrial hub, has been Mexico’s most violent state for years.

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