More than 60 rotting bodies have been found in an abandoned Mexican crematorium after neighbours complained to authorities about a foul smell coming from the building.

The 61 bodies, most of them male, were discovered in a funeral home near the popular resort of Acapulco. It had been closed for about a year, according to a government official.

Guerrero state prosecutor Miguel Angel Godinez confirmed the number of bodies in comments to local media.

Many of the bodies were covered with sheets and had been doused with quicklime, apparently to reduce the odour of rotting flesh.

Some of the bodies appeared to have been there for as long as a year, but others could have been placed at the site more recently, the official said.

The state of Guerrero has been shaken by drug-related violence, including the notorious disappearance of 43 college students who were allegedly rounded up by corrupt police on September 26 and handed over to a drug gang.

Federal investigators say the students, who last were seen in Iguala, about 105 miles north of Acapulco, were killed and their remains burned at a rubbish dump.

There were no immediate signs that the bodies found at the funeral home were connected to the case of the missing students or any other crime.

Officials said the bodies found at the crematorium included some children.

One line of investigation is possible fraud by the funeral home, suggesting operators might have accepted bodies for cremation without performing the service.