(CNN) -- Two men have died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning in a privately owned mine in northeastern Arizona, a fire department spokesman said Monday.
A 77-year-old man and his 25-year-old son-in-law detonated an explosive in the mine on Saturday, presumably to make it larger, said Eric Neitzel, a spokesman for the Show Low Fire Department.
The next day, they entered the mine, he said -- apparently without realizing that there were dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide.
Rescue crews retrieved one body Sunday afternoon and another on Sunday night, Neitzel said.
The mine's purpose was not immediately clear. Mining authorities told local officials that the soil in and around the mine contained nothing of value, he said.
Show Low is in eastern Arizona, about 180 miles northeast of Phoenix.
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