Spoilers ahead.

Paramount+’s Landman just returned for its second season, transporting viewers back to the high-stakes world of the Texas oil fields. Billy Bob Thornton plays the show’s titular landman, Tommy Norris, who heads up operations for M-Tex, managing a plethora of people working across a huge area.

As Landman explores just about every aspect of the oil business—from the billionaires at the top to the workers on the ground—the industry’s very real dangers are explored throughout the series. Here’s what you need to know about the deadly event that occurred onscreen in season 2, episode 3 of Landman, including whether it’s ever happened in real life.

What happens during Landman’s devastating gas leak?

At the start of Landman season 2’s third episode, a group of hunters is shown approaching an oil well and tank while shooting guns at their prey. One of the hunters climbs out of the vehicle to approach the animal they’re hunting. However, as he gets closer to the tank, he begins coughing and then collapses. His friends run over to help him, only to start coughing and falling to the ground, too.

Later in the episode, Dale, Boss, and a number of oil workers arrive at the very same well to fix damage caused by a previous lightning strike. Jerrell climbs up on to the oil tank, and from his high vantage point, he spots the abandoned vehicle left by the group of hunters. Dale and his co-workers approach the vehicle, and as they get closer, they spot the group of men collapsed on the ground.

A surge of wind stirs up the dangerous substance that’s leaked into the air, and an alarm starts going off. Dale tells the team to run, but before they can make it back to their trucks, everyone starts coughing, retching, and throwing up. Dale calls in an “H2S leak” over the radio, and asks for “hazmat and EMS [emergency medical services]” to be sent to the site.

Jerrell is instructed to stay on top of the oil tank, with Dale briefing the team that the wind causes the hydrogen sulfide gas to travel quickly. Luckily, the entire team is rescued by helicopter and transported to hospital before any fatalities occur. But it’s made extremely clear just how deadly a leak of this nature can be. Read more