The charred bodies of four men have been discovered in a burnt-out car at an Italian petrol station.
The bodies were found in a minivan that had caught fire at a petrol station in the small town of Amendolara in the south of the country.
According to initial police reports, the victims are believed to be migrants from Pakistan. It is thought that they had been working nearby as seasonal farm workers.
Many people from Asia are employed in the region’s agricultural sector on low wages and poor working conditions.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain unclear. Investigators are pursuing all possible lines of inquiry, officials said.
The bodies were found by the fire brigade, who had been called to the fire at around 1 pm (1100 GMT). The petrol station, which is located on a main road near the sea, was cordoned off by police.
Citing investigative sources, the Italian news agency ANSA reported that the men may have been the victims of a crime.
Investigators are hoping for CCTV footage
It was unclear whether the men had been at the petrol station to fill up or take a break, or whether they were already dead at the time of the explosion.
The police are hoping that CCTV cameras recording the scene will provide clues. The footage has already been seized.
The village of Amendolara, with a population of 3,000, is part of the Calabria region.
Various families belonging to the 'Ndrangheta mafia organization are active in the area. Victims of violent crimes have previously been burned there.
However, those familiar with the underworld point out that in such cases, the 'Ndrangheta burns the bodies in remote locations, not at a petrol station on a busy road.
