Boy, 3, dies after falling into septic tank while playing in garden with older brother

Tuesday, September 10, 2024 - A three-year-old boy has died after he fell into a septic tank while playing in the garden with his older brother.

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, USA.

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.

Sheriff Department spokesperson Sergeant Darren Moss told the Tacoma News Tribune the septic tank lid was about "the size of a sewer manhole". Sgt Moss estimated the opening as being about "three feet in diameter."