San Salvador , El Salvador ( CNN ) -- A third migrant survived a massacre that left 72 dead in a Mexican border state , and could play a key role in authorities ' investigation of the crime , El Salvador 's president said . `` He is already in the United States and fortunately avoided being killed , '' President Mauricio Funes told reporters Sunday as the remains of 11 Salvadorans who were killed in last month 's massacre were returned to their families in a somber ceremony . A man from Ecuador , Luis Freddy Lala Pomavilla , was originally thought to be the only survivor . Lala was wounded in the attack and told authorities he played dead to fool his captors , . Last week , Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa revealed that a man from Honduras had also survived the attack . At the time , Mexican authorities said they had not revealed news of the second survivor in order to protect the person 's safety . Mexican investigators have not released information about a third survivor . They are still in the process of identifying some of the remains of the 72 migrants killed . Officials have said the migrants hailed from Ecuador , El Salvador , Brazil , Honduras and Guatemala . Family members in El Salvador wept Sunday as a Mexican air force plane returned the remains of their loved ones in flag-covered caskets . Funes did not release the name of the third survivor Sunday . `` His testimony could be the key to investigating the crime , but above all , identifying those who committed it , '' he said . Officials are investigating whether members of the Zetas drug cartel were responsible for the deaths . Funes said Saturday that authorities should not only imprison whoever executed the migrants , `` but also those who could have planned it . '' In El Salvador , authorities have started an investigation to identify who were the Salvadorans ' guides as they headed north through Mexico . In Ecuador , authorities detained a man they say was responsible for coordinating Lala 's passage to Mexico . The growing reach of drug cartels has increased the risk for migrants crossing through Mexico to get to the United States , Mexico 's National Commission for Human Rights said . An investigation by the commission showed that 9,758 migrants were abducted from September 2008 to February 2009 , or about 1,600 per month . Journalist Merlin Delcid contributed to this report .
The third survivor , who is from El Salvador , is now in the United States . Salvadoran president says his testimony could help authorities crack the case . Authorities are still identifying the remains of the 72 migrants killed .