At least five charred bodies were found on Thursday in a van on a rural road of Tiquicheo, a town in the southwestern Mexican state of Michoacan, local police said.

According to earlier reports, the finding was reported at about 07:00 am local time (1300 GMT) near the rural community of San Miguel Canario.

Unofficial accounts indicated that the murderers had left a message inside the vehicle, but its content was not disclosed.

Michoacan is a state with vast mountainous areas favorable for drug production and trafficking, and is part of the route between South America and the United States. It has often been claimed by various drug cartels.

In recent months, organized criminal groups had made the state one of the major areas where they fought against federal police and armed forces.

In Michoacan there is a strong presence of the La Familia cartel, one of the most important and violent gangs in Mexico involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.

More than 45,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a "war against organized crimes" in 2006.