Five villagers in Dayi, Sichuan Province died on Monday evening in a misguided rescue effort to free a piglet trapped in a manure pit, reports Beijing Morning Post.

At about 6:40 pm when Chen Yuzhong's daughter, who was home alone, discovered that a piglet they had recently bought was stuck in the manure pit under their pig sty, she summoned some neighbours for help.

First Wen Huaichun jumped down into the pit and caught the piglet.

But as he raised the little animal up to Chen Shuchang, he suddenly collapsed and fell back into the mire.

Four more people arrived soon after and tried their luck one by one. By the time police arrived on the scene 10 minutes after Wen collapsed, five had died of methane poisoning from the fumes given off by the manure.

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