Ceremonies were organised throughout Mexico and the US to pay tribute to the missing Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, and were attended by thousands of surfers on Sunday.

The two men from Perth went on a surfing trip in Mexico and are believed to have been attacked and killed by local gangsters in the area of Sinaloa. The van that they were driving was found in a burnt out state with two charred bodies inside. Sinaloa is known for its powerful drug cartel and notorious ring of gangsters.

"We wanted to organise something to show the families and friends in Australia the shame, sympathy, the love and the respect," the ABC quoted Mexico Surfing Federation President Alfonso Polidura Perez Luis Skeen de Alba as saying.

According to the organisers, thousands of sympathisers turned up to pay tribute to the duo at events in in Mexico and US.

Skeen added that it is important to express solidarity to the families of their “surfer brothers” from Australia. “It’s critical to show the world another face of our country and our community, and make it clear that the majority of Mexico is not a violent land, and that the country and people do not live in fear, chaos or insecurity,” he said.

Coleman’s sister Sarah Cattermole thanked the surfing community of Mexico for organising such beautiful events in memory of the two men.

Skeen, along with 50 other surfers and 100 well wishers, built a tribute for the duo with flowers and photos at El Camaron beach in Mazatlan. Statements by the family of the missing surfers were also read out. According to Skeen, a private ceremony at a beach near Puerto Vallarta was being held by the duo’s family.

"As a surfer he would be absolutely gobsmacked by all this attention," Adam Coleman's parents, Zena and Andy, said in a statement. "The love and solidarity shown towards us as this time is heartwarming and a comfort so massive it cannot be fully explained by words."

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