Four migrant workers burned alive in Italy; prosecutors call it 'unprecedented'

Outrage is mounting in Italy after four migrant workers were burned to death inside a vehicle by what authorities describe as an illegal labor exploitation network.

The bodies of three Afghan nationals and one Pakistani national were found June 1 inside a vehicle at a gas station in Calabria, in southern Italy, according to The New York Times and The Guardian.

CCTV footage released by local media showed suspects pouring what appeared to be gasoline inside the vehicle before setting it on fire. The suspects then blocked the doors to prevent the victims from escaping, according to reports.

One other Afghan man was inside the vehicle at the time. He survived by escaping through the trunk, sustaining burns to his arm.

The victims were between their late teens and mid-30s. They had been returning to their accommodation after finishing strawberry harvesting work when they were killed.

The sole survivor, Mohammad Taji Alamiyar, 35, told regional broadcaster TGR Calabria that the suspects were "members of a large Pakistani mafia organization," adding that surviving was "a miracle."

He also testified that the workers had been in a dispute with their employer over unpaid wages. "We were promised 45 euros (about $52) a day for eight hours of work, but we have not received a single cent since April 20," Alamiyar said.

The killings have reignited scrutiny of "caporalato," Italy's entrenched system of labor exploitation in which illegal brokers arrange jobs for migrant workers and then siphon off much of their wages under the guise of housing and transportation fees.

Calabria regional governor Roberto Occhiuto shared the footage on social media, calling it "a chilling story that shakes our conscience" and saying it raises "profound questions about the tragedy of migration, the value of human dignity, and civil society's responsibility toward the most vulnerable."

Italy's largest trade union, CGIL, condemned the killings as "an unspeakable atrocity" and urged lawmakers to take concrete steps to eradicate the exploitation of migrant workers.

Prosecutors have detained two foreign men on charges of multiple aggravated murder. Their identities have not been released. Alessandro D'Alessio, the prosecutor handling the case, called it "an unprecedented and serious case" and said the investigation would be broad, examining the killings within the context of illegal labor brokering.