Ankara - The bodies of 13 refugees believed to have suffocated to death were found Wednesday morning near a village not far from Istanbul, the Dogan news agency reported.

Dogan reported that most of the refugees were Pakistani and that it appeared that they were travelling in the back of a lorry where they suffocated. Their bodies were then dumped in a field not far from the village of Kayabasi.

Police were investigating.

Turkey is a major transit point for refugees seeking to make their way into European Union countries. While the Turkish authorities intercept and send home thousands of refugees each year thousands more are thought to get through to EU-member Greece. (dpa)