CALABRIA — Police in Italy arrested two Pakistani nationals on Tuesday for the alleged murder of four migrant workers found dead in a burnt-out minivan in the southern Calabria region. Firefighters responded to the scene at a petrol station near a village at approximately 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT) after the vehicle was set ablaze.
After extinguishing the fire, emergency responders discovered four charred bodies inside the van. A fifth man, an Afghan national, survived the attack. CCTV images showed two individuals blocking the van’s doors from the outside and throwing liquid inside to ignite the fire, according to investigators.
The arrests were made based on evidence from the surveillance footage. The survivor told Italian media that he escaped the burning vehicle by breaking one of the windows. He said the deceased included three Afghans and one Pakistani, all of whom worked in agriculture.
According to the survivor, a dispute preceded the attack after the two arrested men demanded transportation money from those in the van, which the group refused to pay. He alleged that the workers had not been paid for their labor in the region’s strawberry fields, though they had received food and lodging.
Authorities noted that this incident is part of a broader pattern: there have been 14 cases of arson involving cars and minivans carrying Pakistanis in Calabria in recent months. Calabria's regional president, Roberto Occhiuto, said news of the attack "shakes faith in humanity" and added that it was "inhuman."