3 workers found dead in manhole after exposure to toxic gas from sewage, official says

TRINITY COUNTY, Texas (KTRE/Gray News) - Law enforcement responded Wednesday night after toxic hydrogen sulfide gas was detected and three people were found unconscious at a work site in Texas.

Those three workers were later confirmed dead by authorities after their bodies were recovered from a manhole.

“Three men had fallen into kind of a manhole and there was a strong odor of gas, and the men were unresponsive,” said Trinity County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeremy Carroll.

When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they detected the toxic gas inside the manhole and had to wait for additional resources before attempting to recover the men.

Carroll says the situation was not classified as a leak.

“This was just active sewage that’s creating a biological gas at the time. It wasn’t emitting or pressurizing from the manhole, and not causing any harm to the citizens or the community,” he said.

The men were working on a lift station, which moves the sewage through pipes.

“So the crews, from what we gather, were not sent to work on any issues or any underground issues. They were simply working on the motor for the lift station,” Carroll said.

While completing their assigned job, Carrol said one man went into the manhole to stop sewage from backing into their work area. He said the worker fell unconscious and another went to help him. The third then went in to try to save the other two.

“At that point, the gas overcame him as well with his alarm going off on his gas meter, which said H2S, which is hydrogen sulfide gas,” said Carroll.

Carroll said they did not recover all three bodies until after 6:30 p.m.

“We will be praying for them and our community is going to back them, and if there is anything they need, we will be happy to help,” Carroll said.

Late Wednesday night, Frédéric Dugré, the president and CEO of H2O Innovation, issued a statement about the company’s workers.

“This is a profoundly difficult day for our team. Earlier today, two H2O Innovation employees and a contractor lost their lives in a tragic work accident. They were valued members of our team, and their sudden passing is an immense loss not only to their families and friends but also to all of us who had the privilege of working alongside them.

“Right now, we know that several members of our team and a team of contractors we work closely with reported to a scene in Trinity to conduct repairs. While working on a sewer, three people died. We are still working to determine what led up to the deaths, working closely with the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office and other local officials. Safety and training are incredibly important to us.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the three people who lost their lives. This is a sad day for our entire team. Right now, we are focused on doing all we can to support the families of those employees and the rest of our team. Out of respect for them and the continuing investigation, we will release more information when it is available and as permitted by the families and law enforcement.”

When authorities determined the gas was confined to the manhole, a shelter-in-place order for the surrounding neighborhood was lifted.

Then efforts then turned to recovering the bodies of the three workers.

Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace said water levels had to be lowered underground so first responders could gain safe access to the bodies.