London, Aug 8 : Austrian incest fiend Josef Fritzl lied that he rigged the cellar door to open if he died, it has emerged.

This revelation implies that his daughter and the kids she bore him would have been entombed forever.

Fritzl, 73, had told police that the 50-stone mass of steel and concrete had a timer, which would automatically open if he did not reset it.

He claimed it ensured his secret brood would be freed if he failed to visit them, reports The Sun.

But a report has revealed that whatever he said about the door was rubbish — and Elisabeth, 42, and kids Kerstin, 19, Stefan, 18, and six-year-old Felix would have slowly starved to death.

The report stated that the door to cellar could only be opened by Fritzl’s remote control or a switch outside the cellar.

Fritzl imprisoned Elisabeth 24 years ago when she was just 18.

She bore him seven kids before the outrage was discovered in April.

He raised three of them with his wife Rosemarie, 69, above the cellar.

Fritzl is likely to be tried in December on charges of slavery, rape and incest. (ANI)