SAO PAULO, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Three farmers were shot dead and five others injured in an attack on a workers' settlement in Brazil's Sao Paulo state, local authorities said Saturday.

Ten armed men stormed the Olga Benario agricultural settlement of Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement (MST) in the city of Tremembe late Friday, opening fire on families living there, said the local police.

The land where MST farmers have been working for 20 years is home to 45 families, who produce food in the area.

Paulo Teixeira, minister for agrarian development and family farming of Brazil, condemned the incident as "a heinous crime" and called on Sao Paulo's regional government to arrest the perpetrators.

Gilmar Mauro, an MST coordinator, told the news portal Forum that the attack is linked to real estate pressures in Sao Paulo targeting land designated for agrarian reform. ■