Deadly methane gas coming from from a dairy farm’s manure pit killed five people in Virginia, USA.
The farmer, Scott Showalter, 34, apparently was transferring manure from one
small pit to a larger holding pond and died from the gas. In an attempt to
rescue him, his wife, two young daughters and a farmhand also went into the pit
and died.
Cattle feed
Farmers are typically very
careful when ventilating manure pits because of the methane. A family member
questioned whether cattle feed could have trickled into the pit and accelerated
the formation of the gas.