EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) – Two young men who died last week after they entered a southern Illinois manhole where toxic gases were present have been identified by a coroner. Madison County Coroner Stephen P. Nonn says 19-year-old Jack M. Pfund of Edwardsville and 22-year-old Cody W. Toenyes of Bethalto died Friday at a construction site in Edwardsville. The men were found dead Friday in a manhole leading to a sewer pipe at the residential development. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford said first responders were met with “very little oxygen” and a “buildup of toxic gases” that likely led to the workers’ deaths.
