A Brazilian car mechanic has confessed to killing at least 16 boys between 1991 and 2003 after two bodies were found buried beneath the floor of his home, police said on Saturday.

Francisco das Chagas, 39, was arrested in the northeastern city of Sao Luis de Maranhao in December in connection with a string of murders. Police dug up the two bodies on Friday.

"He started confessing yesterday and is still telling us details. He said he had lost track of the murders and might have killed over 30 boys," investigator Joao Carlos Amorim Diniz told Reuters by telephone.