Two men have died buried in a factory silo buried under three tonnes of orange pulp.

The lifeless bodies of the two men were found buried inside the orange pub silo in Carvalhos, in the south of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, on Friday, 31st March.

Firefighters were deployed to the scene to rescue the two factory workers, who have been named as Jose Ricardo Eugenio, 48, and Olney Diniz, 58.

But they were unable to save them and they died in the silo under three tonnes of dehydrated orange pulp.

Their lifeless corpses were eventually recovered after two holes were cut out at the base of the silo to drain it of its contents.

The fire department said: “Initially, searches were carried out inside the structure, through excavation; however, due to the amount of material and the dimensions of the structure, they were not found.

“Subsequently, the firefighters made small cuts in the lower external part of the silo, using operational tools, to dispose of the product.”

It is currently unclear how the two men ended up buried under the orange pulp. Their bodies have been sent to a morgue for autopsy.

Their funerals were expected to take place on the afternoon of Saturday, 1st April.

The authorities are understood to be investigating the incident.