Eleven soldiers at Fort Bliss in Texas have been hospitalized, with two listed as critical in intensive care, after drinking a chemical found in antifreeze that they mistakenly thought was alcohol, ABC News reports.
The soldiers–one warrant officer, two noncommissioned officers and eight enlisted members–had completed a 10-day field training exercise and apparently thought the ethylene glycol was a celebratory alcoholic beverage.
“The circumstances of how the Soldiers ingested the substance are under investigation by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC). There is no reason to believe there is any threat to the greater Fort Bliss community,” Fort Bliss’ 1st Armored Division said in a statement Friday night. “The Fort Bliss senior commander has also directed an administrative investigation to determine the facts and circumstances that led to yesterday’s events.”
Alcoholic beverages are prohibited from training areas and for soldiers during training. The soldiers are members of the 1st Armored Division.