26 bodies have been recovered from shallow graves at a deserted jungle camp in southern Thailand.

According to Thai police, a cause of death has not yet been established. Tests are being carried as part of efforts to find out their identities, and they are believed to have come from Myanmar or Bangladesh.

The camp was discovered yesterday on a route in Songkhla province that is said to be often used by smugglers transporting Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar looking to escape persecution. 

BBC reports that one very ill survivor was found, and that it is believed human traffickers abandoned the man several days ago while moving people across the border from the camp.

The Bangkok Post quotes police chief Somyot Pumpunmuang, who described a "virtual prison camp" where migrants were held in bamboo cages.