Thank you for subscribing!
Police, fire and ambulance crews all responded to the scene, where they discovered the two men had fallen into the slurry tank
The bodies of two men have been recovered after they both fell into an industrial silage tank on a Cheshire farm.
The incident took place on Cann Lane in the village of Aston by Budworth yesterday.
Emergency services were called at approximately 12.20pm to what Cheshire Constabulary described as an industrial incident.
Such tanks are typically used on agricultural premises to collect and store liquid livestock waste, urine and other materials before they can be applied as fertiliser.
Both men, aged 72 and 42, were recovered from the tank, but neither survived.
Cheshire Police said: "The men, aged 72 and 42, were rescued from the tank by emergency services, but sadly despite the best efforts of all those involved, they were pronounced dead at the scene."
The North West Ambulance Service confirmed it had dispatched multiple resources to the farm.
Cheshire Constabulary initially reported the deaths had occurred in a silage tank, used for storing fermented animal feed, before later clarifying it was a slurry tank.
Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive attended the farm on Wednesday.
The workplace safety regulator confirmed it was working alongside Cheshire Police as an inquiry into the circumstances of the incident gets under way.
The families of both men have been notified of their deaths.
Cheshire Police said: "Sadly, despite the best efforts of all those involved, they were pronounced dead at the scene."
The force added: "The family have requested for their privacy to be respected at this difficult time."
Cann Lane was shut to traffic while emergency crews dealt with the aftermath of the incident.
Slurry pits, which sit below ground level or are partially covered, generate a build-up of dangerous gases, including hydrogen sulphide, methane, ammonia and carbon dioxide, as animal waste decomposes in water.
These toxic fumes can render a person unconscious within seconds, and hydrogen sulphide at high concentrations can incapacitate someone in a single breath, proving fatal.
Attempted rescues by bystanders without appropriate protective equipment frequently lead to additional casualties.
Farm deaths linked to slurry have a grim history in the UK, particularly in Northern Ireland. In 2012, Ulster rugby player Nevin Spence, his brother Graham and their father Nevin all perished in a slurry pit accident.
Two years later, eight-year-old Robert Christie died in Dunloy, County Antrim, after being overcome by fumes from a slurry tank.
