Two workers die after being trapped inside a South Dakota farm silo

VOLGA, S.D. (AP) — Two people have died in an accident at a farm silo in South Dakota.

The Brookings County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that the accident happened just before noon Saturday on a farm near Volga in eastern South Dakota.

The sheriff’s office said 51-year-old Larry Dalzell of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and 41-year-old Randi Vandekieft of Warner Robins, Georgia, were working to repair a damaged roof on top of a silo that stood 80 feet (24.4 meters) tall.

Dalzell and Vandekieft became trapped inside the silo “and are believed to have been overtaken by toxic gas,” the sheriff’s office said. Rescuers got them out, but both were pronounced dead.

It was unclear how the workers ended up inside the silo, which was nearly full.