Funds being raised for families of mushroom farm victims

A trust fund has been set up to help raise money for the families left behind by an accident at a Langley, B.C., mushroom farm thatkilled three people and put two others in hospital.

There are a total of 12 children involved among five families, said community activist Arthur Le, and those families are facing tough financial times.

The accident happened at Farmers Fresh Mushrooms Sept. 5, when the workers were overcome by fumes in a small pump house.

Le's brother-in-law, Michael Phan, is still in a coma, along with another man, 35,who was also injured after inhaling the noxious gases.

The names of the three men killed in the accident have not been released.

Separate services for the men will be held throughout the week, Le said, and he's trying to drum up support for the families they left behind.

The wife of one of the men who died is being forced to hold his funeral in British Columbiaeven thoughshe's from Toronto, Le said.

"She doesn't have any money in her pocket for funeral. She tried to borrow money from friends," he said.

WorkSafeBC is giving the families $7,900 for each man's service, but Le said that's not enough to cover costs.

The Langley Farm Workers fund has been set up at Community Savings Credit Union.

Both the BC Coroners Service and WorkSafeBC are investigating the incident, while the B.C. Federation of Labour is calling for a public inquiry into the tragedy.

It's still not clear what caused the fatal accident.