Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims who died in an underground hole from sewer gases aftre trying to rescue a dog - Denise Martinez, 26, and Noel Vigil Benitez, 45. Photos / Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office
Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims who died in an underground hole from sewer gases aftre trying to rescue a dog - Denise Martinez, 26, and Noel Vigil Benitez, 45. Photos / Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office
A Texas sheriff said on 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 twomen 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 four feet (1.2m) wide and containing eight feet (2.4m) 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,” Cook said.
The victims were identified as Delvys Garcia, 37; Denise Martinez, 26; and Noel Vigil-Benitez, 45. All were from Florida.
Bastrop County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident near County Road 461 in northern Bastrop County. Photo / KXAN News
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.
