Twenty-two Marines training at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, California, were injured during an exercise — though all have now been reported in stable condition.
The Daily Beast reported that officials said an extinguishing system went off inside an assault vehicle during a drill, and exposed the 22 Marines to the fire retardant gas, halon.
Dave Marks, a spokesman for the base, said the malfunction did not lead to an explosion or fire, but all the Marines were taken to the base hospital to be checked out, The Associated Press reported.
Three of the Marines were watched closely for medical issues overnight, while the others were all allowed to continue with their training, Mr. Marks said, The Daily Beast reported.
The Marines serve with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, based in Hawaii but were at Twentynine Palms for an integrated training exercise, AP reported.
Twentynine Palms is located about 130 miles from Los Angeles and is the Marines’ largest training base in the world.
“Ninety percent of the Marines will cycle through here for their combined-arms training,” Mr. Marks said, AP reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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