ST-JEAN-BAPTISTE-DE-ROUVILLE, Que. (CP) - Campers yelled for help and tried in vain, but failed to save three people who fell into a septic tank at a campground early Saturday.
The 56-year-old owner of the Lac du Repos campground, east of Montreal, went down a hole with his son-in-law and another camper around midnight to clear a blocked drain near the tank, said Quebec provincial police.
The men were overcome by fumes in the septic tank and fell unconscious.
A fourth man was also overpowered by the fumes and fell from a ladder after climbing down the four-metre hole to rescue them. He was taken to hospital and was in critical condition.
Eight people who tried to help until rescue workers arrived were also treated for exposure to the toxic fumes and released from hospital.
The three men died in hospital after eventually being pulled out by the rescue workers.
Autopsies will be done this week.
"We're going to find out if they died just because of the fumes or if they died because they drowned in the (human waste)," said police spokesman Const. Ronald Mc Innis.
There was panic at the campground, one camper told all-news channel, LCN.
"Everyone was yelling 'Help,' " a woman said. "I woke up and went to look at what was in the hole. They were dead."
Two firemen were also treated in hospital for exposure to the fumes.
The police did not release the victims' names.
Mc Innis said such accidents are not common in Quebec.
He reminded people that only professionals should fix septic tanks.
"For everybody who owns a septic tank that needs repairs, they should always give the job to a professional." Mc Innis said. "They know exactly how to do it."
St-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rouville is about 30 kilometres east of Montreal.
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