Three die from poison gas in well
Belize is no stranger to tragedy, but the events which occurred Tuesday morning in the village of Paraiso near Corozal Town have devastated the community. Today News 5’s Jacqueline Woods was in the area looking for answers in the wake of a freak occurrence that has left three men dead.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Today, the community of Paraiso Village in the Corozal District sadly laid to rest three of its residents. Sixteen-year-old Freddy Monterroso, twenty-one year old Juan Monterroso and thirty-five year old Benito Chable, lost their lives after inhaling a toxic substance that came from the bottom of a well situated on a farm in the village.
Reports are that the Monterroso brothers were given permission by the farm owner, Sylvestre Casteñada, to use the well to irrigate a tomato patch the young men had planted. On Tuesday morning the Monterrosos’ went to clean the well, but fifteen minutes after they started to work, tragedy happened.
Reports are that sixteen-year-old Freddy Monterroso was inside the well, cleaning it when he was suddenly overcome by toxic fumes.
Juan, who was standing outside of the well, saw when his brother collapsed and in an attempt to help him, he jumped fifteen feet down into the hole. Not long after reaching his brother, Juan too started to experience breathing problems and then fainted. According to lead investigator, Corporal Julius Cantun, a number of villagers tried to help the men get out of the well including Benito Chable who happened to be walking by the farm at the time. Cantun says a BDF soldier who was on patrol in the area ran to the scene, but shortly after he was lowered into the well, he too collapsed.
Cpl. Julius Cantun, Lead Investigator
“He was tied around the waist and he was sent down, however twenty seconds later after he was at the bottom he also collapsed. So he was immediately taken out and administered CPR and rushed to the hospital for treatment.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Now it is believed these men inhaled toxic fumes. When you arrived on the scene, was there any strong odour in the air?”
Cpl. Julius Cantun
“Definitely. There was a strong noxious odour in the area. Persons who were around there can confirm it. They were complaining of it. When you smelt it, it burnt your nose as well.”
Because it would not be safe for anyone else to enter the well, the villagers and the police waited until some equipment was brought to the scene to get the men out of the well.
Cpl. Julius Cantun
“They brought out some machines so that we could pump in some oxygen for the people that were down there to see if we could help them. What happened, it was very difficult to get them out due to the toxic substance that was to the bottom of the well. We saw that whosoever went in collapsed, so it was not advisable for anyone else to go in until we got the proper equipment. So we got the gentleman to pump in some oxygen and that was when we felt it the most, the scent.”
The Monterroso brothers and Chable were finally pulled from the well, but both Freddy and Juan died on the way to the Corozal Hospital while Chable died later that evening.
Concepcion Chable, Brother
“It’s something you can’t explain. Everyone feels bad right now, we just can’t explain why that.”
Immediately after the incident, the authorities covered the well and secured the area. Today, a team of experts was scheduled to visit the location to collect samples to determine what killed the men.
Sr. Insp. Gerald Westby, O.C. Corozal Police Branch
“The post-mortem has concluded that the three person unfortunately died from asphyxia due to acute intoxication, which would indicate that there was some sort of gas or some kind of intoxication inside the well. So we have put together a team from the Agriculture Pesticide Control Board and our forensics to get some analysis of the well contents and also the deceased. We have taken controlled samples of blood, hair and different things from the deceased so that we can do some comparisons and find out exactly what caused the deaths of these persons.”
According to farm owner Casteñada, the well, which he originally used to water his orchard, had been abandoned for ten years. He does not know what could have been in it to cause the men to die.
Villagers told News 5 that on Saturday, the Monterroso brothers had thrown gasoline in the well in an effort to kill snakes and other wildlife that may have taken up residence over the years, but they do not believe that contributed to the incident.
Paraiso Village is a closely-knit community and when the villagers heard about the accident, many individuals and organisations responded unselfishly.
Sr. Insp. Gerald Westby
“We would like to thank the Fire Service, B.E.L., the hospital authorities, everybody; the villagers in particular who assisted us yesterday, because it was very tragic. And we can assure that we will be doing our best to try and find what exactly transpired.”
Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
This afternoon, officials from the Public Health Bureau, Department of Environment and Pesticide Control Board visited the site and took samples from the three feet of water that was inside the well. The initial tests revealed that the water contained high quantities of toxic gases including Hydrogen Sulphide, Ammonia, Carbon Monoxide and Sulphur Dioxide. It is believed that the gases, which are produced by natural processes, accumulated over the years due to lack of oxygen and the rotting of organic matter inside the abandoned well. PAHO’s Environmental Consultant, Ronny Maza, who headed the team at the site, believes the gases were released after the Monterroso brothers started to clear away the organic material. According to Maza, the team also interviewed the B.D.F. soldier who survived the incident.
