IRKUTSK - Three Chinese women reportedly missing were found dead in Russia's southern Siberian republic of Khakassia, local media reported Thursday.

The police found three charred bodies near a village in the republic late Wednesday soon after a Chinese woman reported that her three female compatriots went missing.

A preliminary investigation showed that the bodies were the three missing women in their 40s and 50s.

The Russian Interior Ministry said the Chinese women were taken away in a car by three unidentified men Tuesday night.

A criminal investigation was underway.

Guo Zhijun, consul general of the Chinese Consulate in Irkutsk, told Xinhua that Chinese diplomats were traveling to the Khakassia republic over the case.