Three Dutch found dead in Belgian drug lab

Three men who were found dead in a drug lab in Eksel in Belgium on Tuesday are all from the Netherlands. Two came from Eindhoven, the third from Valkenswaard, the Belgian Public Prosecutor confirmed to Omroep Brabant.

Belgian newspaper Belang van Limburg reports that the three men were in their early 20's. The Belgian authorities believe they died in their sleep after breathing toxic fumes.

The men's bodies were found in a shed on Kiefhoekstraat after the local fire brigade got a tip about a strange smell from someone calling from Eindhoven. When emergency services arrived at the scene they found one man lying at the door of the shed, and the other two lying between vats containing chemicals, according to NOS.

Eksel is just across the border with the Netherlands, around 15 kilometers from Weert and some 35 kilometers form Eindhoven. According to NOS, this is the first time that people died in a drug lab in Belgium. Though something similar happened in the Netherlands in 2017. Two 48-year-old men died from carbon monoxide poisoning while making amphetamine in a shed in Kaatsheuvel.