Two bodies discovered inside ‘human-dug cave’
Two people were found dead inside a cave that was dug by humans in a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
Firefighters ‘arrived to find two deceased persons inside of a human-dug cave/excavation’ shortly after 10.30am on Sunday, said the Los Angeles Fire Department.
‘A white powder substance was observed inside,’ added the agency.
Hazardous Materials personnel and specialists with Urban Search and Rescue assisted with recovering the bodies.
The bodies were pulled from a residence on the 8700 block of North Lindley Avenue in Northridge, roughly 25 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
In an update, the fire department stated that Hazardous Materials specialists ‘scanned the area and found all readings normal (wind dissipated the small amounts of powder initially observed)’.
There were no additional excavations or injuries and no threat off-site.
Authorities did not immediately identify the victims or disclose how the bodies wound up in the cave and who created them.
The white substance was later determined to be a drug.
‘Upon further discovery, we found a powder which with the assurance of our hazardous material squad we determined to have portions of fentanyl and were able to mitigate that secure it and we disposed of that,’ stated Los Angeles Fire Battalion Chief Scott Hilton, according to NBC 4.
Both bodies were male adults and did not have signs of foul play, first responders told the news outlet.
The discovery was made at the address for Pacifica Senior Living which is near a homeless encampment, reported the Daily Mail. The cave was near train tracks and may have housed individuals.
Police told ABC 7 that the victims were transients who may have died of overdosing on drugs.
Their causes of death are pending autopsies by a medical examiner.
They were found several months after six bodies were found in the Mojave Desert in California following an apparent dispute over marijuana.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.