New York Times Service
January 30, 2021
Eleven soldiers at Fort Bliss in Texas remained hospitalized Friday, one day after they drank antifreeze, believing it was alcohol, during a field training exercise, military officials said.
Initial lab tests showed that the soldiers were experiencing ethylene glycol poisoning after ingesting the antifreeze on the final day of a 10-day training exercise, Lt. Col. Allie Payne, a spokeswoman for the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, said at a news conference.
Payne declined to discuss the episode in detail, saying it remained under investigation by U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. Maj. Gen. Sean Bernabe, senior mission commander of the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss, has ordered an administrative investigation.
Two soldiers fighting for life drank antifreeze substance thinking it was booze
11 US soldiers from Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, fell ill with ethylene glycol poisoning after drinking it during a field training exercise, with two of them fighting for life
09:52, 30 JAN 2021
The US Army says the soldiers believed they were consuming alcohol (Image: Getty Images)
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Hospitalized Fort Bliss soldiers mistook antifreeze for alcohol, Army says
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A group of hospitalized soldiers assigned to Fort Bliss this week had consumed antifreeze they mistook for alcohol, officials said. Photo by Joselyn Sydnor/U.S. Army
Jan. 30 (UPI) Army officials say the Fort Bliss soldiers hospitalized earlier this week drank antifreeze they mistook for alcohol.
On Thursday 11 soldiers assigned to Texas Fort Bliss were hospitalized at William Beaumont Army Medical Center after drinking what officials described as an unknown substance.
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On Friday afternoon Army officials announced the substance the soldiers ingested was antifreeze, and that two service members remained in critical condition.
Eleven Fort Bliss soldiers are injured after having ingested an "unknown substance" during a training exercise, according to a Fort Bliss press release shared Thursday.