Authorities said two suspected drug gang members were shot dead on a beach in Cancun on Thursday, in an apparent gangland slaying a few weeks after two tourists were killed in crossfire at another beach.

Two criminals were slain on a beach in Bahia Petempich, Puerto Morelos, according to the attorney general's office in the state of Quintana Roo, just hours after allegations of a gunshot began circulating on social media.

Earlier, police reported seeing a gang of armed males with long rifles in the vicinity of the Azul Beach hotel.

A gang of shooters arrived by boat in pursuit of the guys who were killed, according to one senior state official, in what seemed to be a targeted "execution," according to another Mexican official.

There were no more major injuries, according to the attorney general's office on Twitter.