Four migrant farm workers burned alive in Italy after demanding unpaid wages, two arrested
Four seasonal workers from Pakistan and Afghanistan were killed when two men doused their minivan with gasoline and set it alight at a petrol station in Calabria, after the victims had repeatedly asked for withheld pay.
The attack
Four migrant farm workers were burned alive on Monday, 1 June, in a minivan parked at a service station in Amendolara, in the southern Italian region of Calabria. Surveillance footage shows two men blocking the vehicle's doors and throwing a flammable liquid before the car erupts in flames. The victims — identified as Ismat, Fazal, Waseem and Safi, from Pakistan and Afghanistan — tried desperately to break the windows and windscreen but could not open the doors because one of the attackers had broken the handle before fleeing.
A fifth man, 35-year-old Afghan national Mohammad Taj Alamyar, survived by forcing open the rear hatch and escaping while engulfed in flames. He is being treated for severe burns. The four victims were found carbonised inside the vehicle by firefighters who arrived around 1 p.m.
The arrests
Two Pakistani nationals, Safeer Hahmed and Ali Raza, were detained within hours on suspicion of multiple homicide aggravated by premeditation, futile motives and cruelty. Prosecutor Alessandro D'Alessio of Castrovillari described the speed of the arrests as "almost a flagrant arrest." A third suspect, a man named Kassan described by the survivor as "a violent type," may still be at large. Investigators are examining whether the attackers had accomplices who picked them up after they fled on foot.
It was an incident of unprecedented gravity, both for the objective fact — four dead — and for the manner in which it was carried out.
The motive
According to the survivor, the group had been working on the region's strawberry harvests and had repeatedly asked the men who arranged their work and accommodation for wages that had been withheld for about a month. The day before the attack, the workers had been threatened with a pistol. The dispute escalated on the drive back from a shift, culminating in the attack at the petrol station.
Giovanni Mininni, general secretary of the Flai Cgil union, said the union has placed the survivor and another migrant under protection. He stated that the 'Ndrangheta organised crime network likely controls the illegal labour brokerage system in Calabria, noting that Pakistani gangmasters do not walk around armed unless a mafia organisation is behind them.
They died because they rebelled, because they were not being paid.
The farm's response
Rocco Zuccarella, president of the agricultural company where the victims worked, confirmed they had been employed picking strawberries but said they had not been with the firm for some time. He stated that all workers had regular seasonal contracts, medical checks before starting, and payments made by bank transfer. He acknowledged that May wages had not yet been paid, as payment is made by the 10th of the following month. Zuccarella also confirmed that the two arrested men had been regularly contracted by the same company.
Prosecutor D'Alessio cautioned that exploitation often occurs within formally legal arrangements. A CNR-Ismed study estimates between 11,000 and 12,000 workers are trapped in such conditions in the area.
Reactions
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the killings "horrendous" and said Italy "does not retreat in the face of violence and barbarity." Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida pledged tougher controls and sanctions against illegal hiring of seasonal workers. Police commissioner Antonio Borelli said that in 34 years of service he had "never personally witnessed an act of such cruelty before." Trade unions have announced protests against the exploitation of migrant workers.
In 34 years of service, I have never personally witnessed an act of such cruelty before.
- Day before attack: workers threatened with a pistol over withheld wages.
- A Carabinieri forestry officer stops the minivan, notices strange movements, and issues a warning at the petrol station.
- Two attackers douse the minivan with flammable liquid and set it alight, blocking the doors. Four victims die; one escapes.
- Firefighters alerted to the blaze discover four carbonised bodies inside the vehicle.
- Two suspects arrested. Prime Minister Meloni and other officials condemn the killings.
The wider system
The case has drawn attention to the caporalato system, a form of illegal labour brokerage entrenched in Italian agriculture. An estimated 450,000 workers in the agri-food sector live in conditions of marginality and exploitation, generating a criminal business worth €25.2 billion according to Eurispes. The victims all had valid residence permits, no criminal records, and had been living in Italy for years.
