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1 dead, 2 critical after underground storage fall in Phoenix

Posted at 5:54 PM, Aug 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-09 07:18:57-04

One man is dead and two others remain hospitalized in critical condition after falling into a 20-foot underground grain storage facility in Phoenix Monday afternoon. 

Phoenix Fire Department officials say all three men lost consciousness after being in the oxygen deficient atmosphere.  

Officials tell ABC15, by the time rescue crews got halfway down the pipe, there was only four percent oxygen left. The Phoenix Fire Department says a person can only survive four minutes without oxygen. 

They say 61-year-old William Tryon was pumping water from the recent rain out of the underground unit when he fell down in. 

Another man tried to rescue Tryon with ropes and also fell into the large aluminum pipe, as did the third man.

All three were extricated and rushed to a hospital.

One of the other men has been identified as 33-year-old Christian Silaghi. The name and age of the third victim has not yet been released.

The underground storage facility is located in a remote area near Third Avenue and the Carefree Highway.