ClickOrlando.com – A Texas sheriff said Thursday that three hog hunters from Florida died in an underground tank filled with sewer gas after one of them apparently tried rescuing their dog after it fell into the hole, followed by the other two jumping in to save them.
The bodies of two men and a woman, as well as the dog, were pulled from the tank in a cornfield on the rural outskirts of Austin. Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook said the hole was a cistern with an opening roughly 4 feet (1.2 meters) wide and containing 8 feet (2.4 meters) of water, as well as hydrogen sulfide gas. He said the chain of events started early Wednesday in the middle of the night with one of the men apparently getting into the cistern to rescue the dog, which he described as a bloodhound. Clothing and boots belonging to the other two hunters were found near the hole, suggesting they removed them before also jumping in, Cook said.
He said authorities believe the hunters were overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas in the hole and sank to the bottom. “There was no cover. This was just an open hole in the middle of a cornfield." The victims were identified as Delvys Garcia, 37; Denise Martinez, 26; and Noel Vigil-Benitez, 45. All were from Florida.
Cook said the cistern had a “high level” of hydrogen sulfide. He said stagnating water and the decay of other animals that previously died in the cistern could create levels that would be deadly.
The hunting party included a fourth person, from Texas, who did not go into the hole. Cook said that hunter told authorities the dog escaped from their truck and that they tracked it using a device on the dog's collar.
Efforts to recover the bodies were hampered by concerns from dive teams about the gas and the integrity of the structure’s walls, he said. The tank had “strong fumes, similar to those of a septic tank, coming from the cistern.”
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What a helluva way to die.
ReplyDeleteHydrogen sulfide is more toxic than cyanide. They lasted a minute or so at most. And, as H2S is extremely recognizable at less than toxic levels, this is a grand example of Darwin Awarding. Pity, but these folks were not very bright.
DeleteIf I recall correctly from the safety lecture for Chemistry labs half a century ago, traces of H2S are extremely recognizable (it's a poison that occurs often in nature, and also a warning that something nasty and dangerous is happening to release that gas), but your nose shuts down at 10% of the lethal dose. If you follow the instincts set in your genes by evolution, you'll be running away before it gets that strong, but the human mind can overpower that instinct. So you ignore your animal mind gibbering in fear because, dammit, your dog needs help, get a little closer, and the stink is gone! That's when you _really_ need to hold your breath and run far away, but these folks didn't know that.
DeleteIf on private property this might get interesting. Did the hunters have permission to be there? Does the owner have any liability (eg, for not filling it)? If the owner has any money, he'd be wise to both lawyer up AND preemptively file charges against the hunters.
ReplyDelete