When a utility worker in Key Largo, Florida, noticed that a section of a paved street was not settling properly, he decided to remove a manhole cover and descend into the earth.
A colleague was able to wear his gear and pull Moreno out. Firefighters also retrieved two of the workers, who were confirmed dead at the scene, and treated a fourth utility worker at the scene. The third deceased worker’s body was recovered from the hole Monday afternoon.
The men worked for private construction contractor Douglas N. Higgins and were responding to neighbor complaints of sewage backup in the area, Ramsay said. They were identified as 34-year-old Elway Gray of Fort Lauderdale, 49-year-old Louis O’Keefe of Little Torch Key and 24-year-old Robert Wilson of Summerland Key.
Monday’s tragedy left the Key Largo community shaken, locals said in messages on social media. “It’s been a very difficult day,” Ramsay said.
One towing company posted a message on Facebook reaching out to the families of the men who were killed.
Three white crosses were left at the 106-mile marker on Long Key Road where the deaths occurred.
A woman who lives near the manhole told Local 10 News that the area has smelled of rotten eggs for the past couple of months.
“It smells like rotten eggs,” Barbara Guerra said. “It was out here again this morning and I’m used to it because they’ve been a whole year already.” She said she knew the workers from walking by the area every morning, and would often wave at them and bring them water.
Three sheriff’s deputies who were exposed to fumes were also taken to a hospital for treatment. Five households in the area were evacuated for part of the day Monday, as a Miami-Dade County hazmat team performed tests at the scene. Their tests revealed there was both methane gas and hydrogen sulfide gas coupled with low levels of oxygen in the pipe, the sheriff’s office said in the statement.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is responding to the scene as part of its own investigation into the circumstances of the workers’ deaths.