Merced County fuel tank death: new details released

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – There are new details about an incident in Merced County that left one woman dead and another hospitalized.

It happened in the city of Delhi just after 3 p.m. on Monday.

“Our deputies responded to the 15,000 block of Oak Avenue in Del High for the report of two females who had fallen into an underground fuel storage tank,” said Capt. Aaron Rosenberg with the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators don’t believe there was any type of foul play and are simply calling it a terrible accident.

“Cal Fire personnel and a special extraction team were sent to the location to extract the women from the underground tank,” said Rosenberg.

Investigators believe the two women fell into the fuel tanker after one of them fell in on accident while the second went in to try and rescue her.

“I believe somebody heard someone screaming for help and somebody in the local area called in,” said Rosenberg.

During the call investigators also discovered several malnourished calves.

“Unfortunately, one of the cows had to be euthanized at the scene, and then two others were seized by our Animal Bureau due to their condition,” said Rosenberg.

Both women lived on the property, but authorities are not sure who else lived there and who was caring for the animals.

The second woman was rushed to the hospital. Her condition remains critical at this time.

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