Eleven troopers at a U.S. army base in Texas have been hospitalized, with two in vital situation, after ingesting antifreeze they mistook for alcohol, Army officers stated on Friday.
The troopers from Fort Bliss in El Paso have been finishing a 10-day area coaching train when the incident occurred on Thursday, the Army’s public affairs workplace stated in a press release.
The substance detected in lab outcomes from the sickened troopers was ethylene glycol, generally often called antifreeze, the Army stated.
“Initial reports indicate soldiers consumed this substance, thinking they were drinking an alcoholic beverage,” the Army assertion added.
“Army and Fort Bliss regulations prohibit the consumption of alcohol in a field training environment. Initial toxicology results indicate the soldiers are experiencing ethylene glycol poisoning.”
Antifreeze ingestion may cause extreme kidney harm and dying, Army officers stated at a information convention at Fort Bliss.
The army stated earlier that the troopers fell ailing after “consuming a substance acquired outside of authorized food supply distribution channels.”
Antifreeze has been recognized to trigger unintentional deaths and has been utilized in homicide thriller novels and in real-life homicide plots, as it could simply be mistaken for alcohol.
The hospitalized troopers embody one warrant officer, two non-commissioned officers and eight enlisted service members, the Army stated.
The Army didn’t launch their names. All remained hospitalized, the Army stated. Fort Bliss is the house to the Army’s 1st Armored Division, nicknamed “Old Ironsides,” with about 17,000 troopers.
