Investigators Seek Cause of Three Deaths in New Mexico Home

Investigators in New Mexico are trying to identify a mysterious substance that may have contributed to the deaths of three people and led to more than a dozen first responders being briefly quarantined. Authorities were called to a suspected drug overdose Wednesday and found four people who were unresponsive inside a home east of Albuquerque, in the rural town of Mountainair.

Three of the people who were in the home died and the fourth was being treated at an Albuquerque hospital, police said. Some first responders began coughing, vomiting and experiencing dizziness, authorities said. The mayor said Thursday that officials were awaiting test results.

It was not clear exactly how many first responders experienced symptoms.

Nearly two dozen people — mostly responders — were decontaminated and checked by medical workers, the University of New Mexico Hospital said. Hospital officials said three patients were being monitored Wednesday evening. Hospital officials said most of the people evaluated had no symptoms and were discharged.

A volunteer firefighter in Mountainair said she saw some emergency medical technicians and firefighters coughing and vomiting. The mayor said he spotted drugs at the home that sits along a dirt road and pointed to that as a possible factor in the deaths.

New Mexico State Police said there was no threat to the public and that investigators do not believe the substance was airborne. The mayor dismissed carbon monoxide or natural gas exposure as possible causes for the health issues that the first responders experienced.