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Behind a hidden door in the cellar, police discovered a complex of small windowless rooms less than 2m high, where Elisabeth was kept imprisoned with three of her children -- her 19-year-daughter Kerstin and two sons, aged five and 18.

Three others -- a boy and two girls aged 12 to 16 -- were formally adopted by Josef and his wife, Rosemarie, and allowed to attend school.

Fritzl had claimed for years they were dumped on him with a note from his missing daughter saying she was unable to care for them.

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Elisabeth was "greatly disturbed" and agreed to talk only after receiving assurances her children would be cared for and that she would no longer have to see her father.

Police psychologists are caring for Elisabeth and her six surviving children. A spokesman said that when the two boys emerged from the basement on Sunday, they "saw the daylight for the first time in their lives".

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As well as Elisabeth, Mr Fritzl had four children, all of whom have families of their own. Police said the dungeon was taboo for the rest of the family, including his wife, who claimed to have known nothing about her daughter's fate.

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The entrance was via a small door, hidden behind cupboards in the basement, controlled by an electronic keyless-entry system. Polzer said that the prison was hard to find, even if someone was looking for it, and had been soundproofed.

"Even though they shouted and called they were not in a position to let anyone hear them," Polzer told the press conference.


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Detectives made the grim discovery about the cellar earlier this month after Kerstin was hospitalized in Amstetten after falling unconscious and taken to a hospital in Amstetten by her grandfather with a SOS note from her mother hidden on her.

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 When Kerstin fell ill, Fritzl apparently told his wife and the hospital that his "missing" daughter had dropped off the sick girl on his doorstep.

In an effort to find out about Kerstin's condition, the hospital and police asked the media to put out a bulletin requesting any information about the girl or her missing mother, attorney general Gerhard Sedlacek told NTV.

Sometime later, Fritzl brought Elisabeth out of the cellar, telling his wife that she had returned home with her two children after a 24-year absence, police said.

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