Two men cleaning inside giant industrial oven cooked after colleague turned it on by mistake

TWO men lost their lives after a colleague turned on the giant industrial oven they were cleaning leaving them to cook to death.

The metalworker who switched on the cooker is receiving counselling after detectives discovered the men had tried to rip insulation off the walls and clawed at the door in a desperate bid to escape.

The horrific accident happened after they ignored safety measures that would have warned colleagues they were still inside.

The furnace — used to heat metal ready for smelting — can reach temperatures of 800C (1,472F).

Somehow its automatic door closed on them and when staff finally realised they were missing their charred and blackened bodies were found lying on the floor inside.

Cops say they had actually finished the cleaning job before returning a second time without telling colleagues.

Officials said they ignored four safety precautions used at the factory owned by the Salzburger Aluminium AG company in Lenz, Austria, to avoid such incidents.

These included putting up a sign to tell others they were inside and securing the door so it stayed open.

After they entered a second time the door swung shut and a co-worker assumed they had finished before turning it on.

Police spokeswoman Daniela Gstvttner said the pair, a veteran employee and 49-year-old temp, would have known what was about to happen as hot air began to flood the chamber.

She said: "Because of the intense heat at some point the men's clothes caught fire - and from there their bodies were burned.

"At the moment we are trying to work out how the door was closed and how it ended up being switched on. It could have been done manually or by remote control."