Dietrich, Idaho • Authorities in south-central Idaho say one person is dead and eight others, including emergency responders, had to be sent to hospitals after apparently encountering excess nitrogen gas.
The Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office says emergency crews responded at about 10:15 a.m. Thursday to a report of an unresponsive man in a home in Dietrich.
Police say they found the man dead and a canister later identified as containing nitrogen, an odorless gas common in the Earth’s atmosphere but that can dilute the amount of oxygen present.
Among the eight people taken to hospitals were three Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies.
Dietrich Mayor Don Heiken says residents have been asked not to drink city water, but he wasn’t sure why.