The bodies of three people have been discovered in a burnt-out building in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara, the first reported deaths after days of rioting.

Axar.az reports the charred bodies were discovered in a store in the Chinatown district of Honiara, police said on Saturday.

A security guard, Edie Soa, said the bodies had been found on Friday night in the OK Mart in Honiara’s Chinatown on Friday night.

“Three of them were in the same room with a cash box and money on the floor,” he said.

Many buildings in the Chinatown district have been torched and Soa said the bodies were very badly burnt.

“We couldn’t tell if they are Chinese people or locals.”

Police said forensic teams had launched an investigation and were still on the scene but that the cause of the deaths was unclear.