Three Florida hunters were found dead in a Texas underground reservoir on Wednesday, authorities said.
Delvys Garcia, 37; Denise Martinez, 26; and Noel Vigil-Benitez, 45 fell into the underground tank in a cornfield in Bastrop County while trying to save their dog, police said.
Deputies responded to reports of three people trapped inside an underground hole at 1 a.m. Wednesday when a fourth hunter returned to the truck and called 911.
First responders said that the cistern was partially filled with water and emitting fumes “similar to those of a septic tank.”
The hunters had already died by the time rescuers arrived at the scene. Sheriff Maurice Cook said that high hydrogen levels in the tank caused a faster drowning for the victims.
“It wasn’t long in the tank before they went to the bottom,” he added.
Responders had to pump water out of the reservoir and ventilate the strong fumes before investigating the cistern using a small drone.
The victims’ bodies and that of a dog were recovered by 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
“It’s a sad day whenever it ends like it did yesterday,” Cook said.
“Can you imagine? You have loved ones and they come to Texas to hunt and then it ends like this, which was a sad tragedy that just happened.”
