2 Men Die After Falling Into Toxic-Chemical Tank

HOUSTON — Two men died Friday when they were overcome by a fumes from a toxic chemical being loaded into a tanker ship and fell into the tank.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Clingenpeel said the bodies of the victims had not yet been retrieved because the tanker was filled with ethylene dichloride, a highly flammable petrochemical. Another man was injured in the incident, the cause of which was under investigation, Clingenpeel said.

All the victims were crewmen on the Formosa Two, which was being loaded with petrochemicals in Point Comfort, Texas, about 100 miles southwest of Houston.