The Garda Siochana is seeking the help of the Chinese community in Dublin after a man and woman, both aged 19, were found strangled earlier this week in an apartment which had been set on fire.
The couple were identified yesterday, but their names are being withheld until their families have been contacted.
They were found dead following a fire and explosion at their apartment at Blackhall Square, North King Street, early on Wednesday morning.
Garda sources yesterday said there was no indication that the attack was racially motivated.
It is understood that the couple had been living in Dublin for about eight months.
There have been two previous murders of members of the Chinese community in Ireland in which the victims were strangled. In both those instances, in Belfast and Dublin, police believe that the victims were killed by professional assassins.
Chief Supt Al McHugh, who is in charge of the Garda inquiry, said gardai were satisfied that an explosion occurred and that the fire was caused by petrol.
Dublin Fire Brigade was called to the scene after the explosion and the two bodies were found in the apartment. According to the Garda, there was a strong smell of petrol in the building.
Post-mortem reports confirmed that the man and woman had both been strangled. The young man is believed to have been a student at the Centre of English Studies in Dame Street.
The school principal, Ms Rosemary Quinn, confirmed that one of the Chinese students enrolled at the school had not attended classes in recent days but previously had an excellent record of attendance.
As his identity has not yet been confirmed, the school would not release the young man's name. Ms Quinn said, however, that the teaching staff and students were "extremely upset" at the news of the deaths.
The male student enrolled at the Dublin school last October. He recently returned to his home in Shenyang province in north-eastern China for the Chinese new year, the principal said. A book of condolence will be opened for students at the college today.
"Our whole student body, regardless of nationality, is very upset. We would like to send a book of condolence to his parents, as we understand they may appreciate it", Ms Quinn said.
The dead woman was not believed to be a student at the same college and she has not yet been formally identified.
Gardai are seeking assistance from the Chinese community and especially from students attending language schools.
Garage owners in the vicinity of Blackhall Place who may have sold petrol in small containers in recent days have been asked to contact the gardai. House-to-house inquiries are being conducted in the Dublin 7 area.
Garda officers have appealed to night workers who may have seen anything suspicious in the Blackhall Square area on Wednesday to come forward.
Anyone who may be able to assist the inquiry is asked to contact the Bridewell Garda station on 01-6668238 or 016668239.
While figures for the number of Chinese students living and working in Dublin were not available yesterday, it is believed that at least several hundred Chinese come here each year to learn English.
One of Dublin's biggest English language colleges said that 300 Chinese students were enrolled there at present. The students either stay with host families or in rented accommodation, according to a spokesperson for the Dublin school.
The two other murders of members of the Chinese community in recent years were women in their 20s who were pregnant. Both were strangled.
On June 11th 1997 the body of Mandy Fong (28), who was five months pregnant, was found in the bathroom of a rented flat at Bunting Road, Crumlin. No one has been charged with her murder and the case is likely to remain unsolved, according to Garda sources.
The other woman, Mi Yi "Candy" Ho, was found dead in a house at Isoline Street in east Belfast on June 9th 1998, her 29th birthday. A man has been charged with her murder.