Three hog hunters from Florida died in an underground tank filled with sewer gas after one person tried to rescue their dog that had fallen into a hole. Two men, a woman and the dog all died.
According to AbcNews, the victims were pulled from a tank in a cornfield in rural Austin. Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook stated the hole was a cistern with a four feet opening filled eight feet of water which included hydrogen sulfide gas.
The accident occurred on Wednesday night when one of the men climbed into the cistern to save his bloodhound. The clothing and boots which belonged to the other two hunters, were found on the outside of the hole suggesting they had taken their clothes off to assist the first man. It is likely the three people had been overcome by the toxic gas and fell to the bottom. The water level of the cistern was below the small opening which prevented anyone from escaping.
There was no cover. This was just an open hole in the middle of a cornfield.
Sheriff Cook
The victims have been identified as Florida residents, Delvys Garcia, 37, Denise Martinez, 26, and Noel Vigil Benitez, 45. A fourth person with the hunting party did not go into the hole and told authorities the dog had escaped from their truck, and the hunters had used a collar tracking device to find the dog. The surviving hunter returned to the truck to call 911.
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