Five Die in Manure Pit

Virginia farmer Scott Showalter entered the manure pit to clear a clogged pipe. It's something he may have done hundreds of times. But this time he became overwhelmed by methane fumes. Amous Stoltzfus, who was helping, apparently thought it was a heart attack and entered the pit to help, only to pass out himself. Showalter's wife and two of their daughters then entered in a frantic attempt to help, but they were all overwhelmed by the fumes and died.

"You cannot smell it, you cannot see it, but it's an instant kill," said Dan Brubaker, a family friend who oversaw the construction of the pit decades earlier.