3-year-old Boy Dies After Falling Into Septic Tank

A 3-year-old boy has been reported dead after he fell into a septic tank while playing with his older brother in the garden.

The boy, whom police have not named, had been playing alongside his four-year-old brother in a back garden near their home in Lakewood, just southeast of Seattle, Washington.

Deputies from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and firefighters were alerted to reports a child had fallen into a sewer at about 2:21pm on Sunday, September 8.

Rescuers managed to pull the boy out of the tank at 3:05pm the same day, but tragically he was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives determined that an adult had been in and out of the house during the time the boy fell into the tank.

According to local network KOMO News, the boy removed the lid of a neighbour’s septic tank before falling in. Another child who had been playing with the boy then went inside to alert the grandmother who then called police.

Detectives have since started to collect evidence and carry out an investigation at the scene.