Investigators believe that chemicals spilled in the enclosed cargo area where the workers were riding as the truck traveled down a busy highway Tuesday, but they were unsure what ignited the blaze. An emergency worker initially blamed a cigarette.
The fire trapped 13 employees, ages 18 to 46, who were sitting in the cargo area among plastic containers of paints and thinners. The men were sharing the truck after another broke down.
Burns covered as much as 90 percent of their bodies, and their lungs were seared by superheated toxic gases. One worker, 30-year-old John Webster, died from his injuries, and most of the others face long hospital stays and multiple surgeries, including skin grafts.
``We're not talking about hours or days here,'' said Chuck Shufflebarger, emergency services director at Methodist Hospital, where some victims were treated.
Investigators said they would have to wait for any clues the men might be able to offer.
``You can't talk to somebody that is incoherent,'' said Sgt. Ray Poole, an Indiana State Police spokesman.
Four other employees in the truck's cab were uninjured.
All aboard the truck worked for RPT Painting, based in Franklin, about 30 miles south of Indianapolis.
Phone calls to the company rang unanswered, and an Indianapolis attorney for the company, Craig Helmreich, did not return a phone message.
Authorities did not believe the presence of the 13 men in the back of the truck violated any laws.
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