The manager of a Waikato camping ground, where two men died from gas from a portable barbecue, says it was "stupidity" to take the cooker into their cabin.
Gas from a charcoal barbecue was believed to have caused the deaths of the two South African-born men whose bodies were found in their beds in the Ruapuke Motor Camp in the seaside town of Raglan yesterday.
A third man found in a delirious state on the floor of the cabin and was flown by the Westpac air ambulance to Waikato Hospital.
He was later transferred to Devonport naval base in Auckland for hyperbaric treatment but it is understood he remains in a serious condition this morning.
The trio were on a weekend fishing trip while their wives were at a baby shower for the seriously ill man's wife in Hamilton.
Huntly police Sergeant Brent Wallace said officers were called to the camping ground about 8am and initial indications were that the two men died from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of using the charcoal-burning portable barbecue in the cabin.
Mr Wallace said the alarm was raised after other members of the men's group noticed the three had not got up early as planned to go fishing.
Ben Walker, who runs the motor camp, said it was "stupidity" to take the barbecue into their cabin to keep warm.
He had stopped others from taking barbecues into their cabins before.
"If only I had seen them take the barbecue inside, things could have been different. I feel like crying, I just can't believe it," he told The Dominion Post.
His stomach churned when he heard the third man scratching and crying for help.
"I said 'Wake the others up', but he said "They won't wake up'," Mr Walker said.
He drove 5km to get help, because there was no cellphone reception in the area.
He said the trio must have had a few beers and drifted off to sleep.
The injured man was described as 32 and from Hamilton. Police said today the identities of the deceased would be released once the formal identification and notification processes were completed.
A spokesman said the deaths were a tragic reminder of the risks of using any type of fuel burner in a confined space.
Carbon monoxide displaced oxygen in the bloodstream and deprived the heart, brain and other vital organs of oxygen.
