India, Jan. 12 -- Weeks after a massacre left six dead, including a toddler, Ecuador faced another crisis as five human heads were found severed and strung from ropes at a tourist beach on Sunday.

Citing police authorities, local media reported that the five heads were found hanging from ropes on a beach in Puerto Lopez, Manabi.

Images of the bloody scene have taken over social media by storm. In the viral pictures, a sign can be seen next to the heads, which the police have attributed as a warning to fishermen in the area.

"The town belongs to us. Keep robbing fishermen and demanding vaccine cards, we already have you identified," read the sign, as per AFP. The message was reportedly left as a threat to gang members who extort protect...