GASTON (AP) — Three men were found dead Sunday in North Carolina near the border with Virginia after firefighters extinguished a blaze in a wooded area following a car crash, the fire department in Gaston said.

Firefighters at 8:02 a.m. responded to a call about a vehicle on fire along North Carolina Highway 48 in Pleasant Hill, the department said in a statement. They found a car split in two and fully engulfed in flames. The fire had already spread to surrounding brush.

The department said the men were ejected from the vehicle in the crash, and their bodies were found when firefighters put out the blaze.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. Authorities have not released additional information, including the names of the men.