Eleven soldiers at a military base in Texas have been admitted to hospital after drinking a poison they say was alcohol, army officials said.
The soldiers drank the unknown substance after a ten-day field exercise at McGregor Range Complex in Fort Bliss ended Thursday, Fort Bliss officials said in a statement.
Officials said the soldiers thought they were drinking alcohol, which is banned at the base.
They then started experiencing symptoms between 7:00 and 13:00 the same day.
All were taken to William Beaumont Army Medical Center, and two soldiers were admitted to the intensive care unit because they were seriously ill, officials said.
Toxicological results showed that the soldiers – who had received the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command – were suffering from ethylene glycol poisoning.
Symptoms of ethylene glycol poisoning include seizures, coma and in some cases cerebral edema, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The US Army Criminal Investigation Command is investigating the incident.