Report: Two US submariners die of drug overdoses

Two US Navy sailors serving at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia died of what appear to be drug overdoses, CNN reported a US Navy PAO as saying.

One of the sailors – Petty Officer First Class Brian Jerrell – was assigned to the Trident Training Facility, while the other – Petty Officer Second Class Ty Bell – was serving on the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN-742).

Brian Jerrell and Ty Bell were found dead on October 12 and 16, respectively. They are both believed to have overdosed on cocaine and a toxicology report is pending.

“Tragically, we have lost two sailors in less than a week to apparent drug overdose,” Navy Cmdr. Sarah Self-Kyler told CNN. “The submarine force and Kings Bay leadership are taking these events seriously.”

Self-Kyler further said all Kings Bay commands would increase frequency of urinalysis testing and conduct command-wide unit sweeps.