The men were helping to build a new sewage pumping facility. They were in a concrete foundation, a trench-like part of the structure about 40 feet deep. Sources said giant intakes five feet in diameter are inside the structure. Inflatable plugs secured with chains are used to keep the water out. Some sort of catastrophic failure immediately sent sewage water into the space where the men were working at a force even more powerful than a firehose. The two men who died were in the lower part of the structure. The third man who escaped was near the top of the structure.
