Teenager crushed to death by sausage making machine in the Philippines

A teenager was crushed to death after falling inside a meat grinder at a sausage factory in the Philippines.

Joemar Jungco, 18, is believed to have reached inside the industrial crusher where spicy chorizo was being made in Iloilo City on June 22.

But colleagues believe his hand was caught in the mechanism and he was dragged into the grinder - then unable to reach the switch to turn it off.

Shocked workers discovered Jungco on top of the two horsepower grinder with only his feet visible when they turned up for their shifts at 8am.

Francis Arevalo, who was working the same shift as Jungco, said the teenager was trying to reach something from inside the machine while it was turned on.

Jennifer Espora of the Lapuz Police Station said that Jungco has only been working in the job for around two weeks. His role was to pack the meat and not grinding so he was inexperienced with the machines.

Espora said police do not believe foul play was involved. She added: ''We asked his co-workers and the owner of the company and they claimed he was alone in the working area when the incident occurred.

Jungco's family decided to settle with the factory owner who promised to pay for all his burial expenses.

Factory owner Joselor Jaleco said: ''He was a good worker and was dedicated to his work. We are willing to provide for his burial expenses.''

Speaking in the video, Joemar's former colleague, Carl, explains how the machine is operated. He said: ''It is possible that he put his hand near the blades inside the machine while it was turned on.

''You cannot reach the switch while standing here. The motor is two horsepowers strong but stopped midway when half of his body was in. We took him out of the machine after turning it off completely."