Military officials say 22 Marines have been treated for exposure to fire retardant gas at the desert base in Twentynine Palms after an extinguishing system accidentally went off in an assault vehicle during a training exercise.
Base spokesman Dave Marks says an equipment malfunction caused the release of halon Thursday afternoon at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. There was no fire or explosion.
The Marines were treated at the base hospital. Marks said three will be kept overnight for observation and the rest were returned to training.
He said the Marines were from a Hawaii base and were inside an amphibious assault vehicle that carries troops from ships to shore.
Twentynine Palms, about 160 miles northeast of San Diego, is the largest Marine training base in the world.
