Three Workers Killed by Toxic Fumes in Queens Sewer

Three laborers who were working in a large sewer hole at a Jamaica garbage facility have died. The Daily News says they were killed by toxic fumes. The men reportedly got trapped as far down as 25 feet while doing some kind of clean-up work; emergency workers had to put on hazmat suits before attempting to rescue them because of toxic waste at the scene. Update: Apparently two of the men went into the hole at first, and when they didn't respond to calls from above, a third man went down to see about them and was likewise overcome. (Revised -- see Update 3.) Update 2: It seems this facility, Regal Recycling, lost a worker in 2005 when a Caterpillar tractor backed over him, which may explain why they were so testy when the News called them up. Update 3: The Times clears up the sequencing: first one man went in and didn't come back, then another went after him and didnt come back, and then a third went down before people decided to try something else. The deceased in order are Harel Dahan of Brooklyn, Schlomo Dahan (his father) of Flushing, and Rene Francisco Rivas of Queens. The Dahans were contracted to clean the area; Rivas was an employee of Regal Recycling.