LOGAN — An 83-year-old man died Tuesday after falling into an empty septic tank in Millville.
Emergency crews were called to the residence near 200 East and 200 South after a neighbor witnessed the fall and called 911 just after 4:40 p.m.
The caller told dispatch operators the victim was lying on his back, unable to get up and out of the tank. The man was reportedly conscious at the time of the fall.
As emergency crews arrived on scene, they reported the man was 12 to 15 feet down in the confined space and beginning to become unresponsive.
Cache County Sheriff’s Lt. Mikelshan Bartschi said firefighters determined hazardous gases inside the septic tank made the atmosphere too dangerous for immediate entry without specialized equipment. Crews were forced to stage and wait for a technical rescue team equipped to operate in high-risk, confined-space environments.
Bartschi said by the time rescuers successfully reached the victim, he had lost consciousness. He was extricated and pronounced dead shortly after.
The identity of the victim is being withheld pending notification of extended family.
Witnesses reported the septic tank had recently been pumped out and the man was working around it when he fell in through the opening.
Bartschi said it was not the outcome emergency crews were hoping for and expressed sadness for the victim’s family.