Mountain Air, New Mexico — Investigators in New Mexico are trying to identify a mysterious substance that may have contributed to this Three people died It led to more than a dozen first responders being briefly isolated.
Authorities were called to a suspected drug overdose on Wednesday and found four people unresponsive inside a home east of Albuquerque, in the rural town of Mountaineer. Police said three of the people who were in the house died while the fourth was receiving treatment at an Albuquerque hospital.
Some first responders began coughing, vomiting and dizziness, authorities said.
The city’s mayor said Thursday that officials were awaiting test results.
Here’s what to know about the deaths and investigation.
It was not clear exactly how many first responders were showing symptoms.
The University of New Mexico Hospital said nearly two dozen people — most of them responders — were decontaminated and examined by medical personnel. Hospital officials said three patients were being monitored Wednesday evening.
Antonette Allguerre, a Mountaineer volunteer firefighter, said she saw some emergency medical technicians and firefighters coughing and vomiting.
Hospital officials said most of the people evaluated did not show any symptoms and were discharged.
Mountain Air Mayor Peter Nieto said he detected drugs at the home, which is located along a dirt road, and pointed to that as a possible factor in the deaths. He did not say what type of drugs he believed they were.
He dismissed exposure to carbon monoxide or natural gas as possible causes of the health problems faced by first responders.
New Mexico State Police spokesman Wilson Silver said there was no threat to the public and investigators did not believe the substance was airborne.
New Mexico had the fourth-highest drug overdose death rate of any U.S. state in 2024, with 775 deaths, according to the latest data available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Residents around Mountaineer, a town with a population of fewer than 1,000 people, have expressed frustration about drug use in the community and elsewhere.
The mayor posted on social media that the city’s law enforcement officers and first responders are working daily to protect the community and respond to difficult situations.