Three members of a family in a village in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, were killed by cesspit fumes in a tragic incident triggered by the loss of a cell phone, chinanews.com reported on Aug 1.

The daughter, 18, dropped her phone into the cesspit on July 26. She tried to retrieve it but was overcome by fumes. Her parents then tried to rescue her, but they too were overcome.

Police warned against the danger of cesspit fumes and asked villagers to be aware of the danger.