Four members of the same family including a teenage boy suffocated while trying to rescue one another from a septic tank on a pig farm after they inhaled toxic faeces fumes.
Hongjiang Village resident Wang Youshun, who was in his 60s, has been named as the first victim who lost consciousness and fell into the septic system of his pig farm.
Wang is said to have been a well-known pig farmer in Leshan’s Shawan District in south-western China’s Sichuan Province, where he owned two large pigsties on his residence.
According to reports, Wang’s daughter found him unconscious inside the septic tank he was attempting to clean on 22rd June.
He had likely passed out after inhaling toxic fumes such as methane produced by the pig faeces, and his daughter fell in too while trying to rescue him.
Her husband and Wang’s son-in-law was the third t0 fall victim to the septic tank, followed by the couple’s 13-year-old son, who was not at school due to it being the weekend, villagers said.
All four family members are suspected to have died from exposure to methane gas.
According to reports, a funeral was held for them the following day and was attended by numerous village residents.
Shawan District officials say they are still investigating the details of the case they have thus far classified as an accident.
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Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
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