Carbon monoxide poisoning caused US marine deaths at North Carolina petrol station

Local sergeant says deaths of three lance corporals at the weekend 'seems accidental'

Camp Lejeune marine base in North Carolina. Three US marines were found dead 47km away. AP

Three US Marines found unresponsive in a car at a North Carolina petrol station died of carbon monoxide poisoning, the local sheriff's office said Wednesday.

Deputies from the Pender County Sheriff’s Office found the three men unresponsive on Sunday morning in a privately owned car at a Speedway petrol station in Hampstead, 47km south-west of the Camp Lejeune base.

Medical authorities pronounced all three dead the same day,

Post-mortem examinations performed on Wednesday by the state's medical examiner determined that all three deaths were the result of carbon monoxide poisoning, the sheriff's office said.

Sgt Chester Ward of the Pender County Sheriff’s Office said that the situation “seems accidental".

Investigators “have found nothing else that shows that it’s something else".

Sgt Ward said the sheriff’s office received a missing-person report for one of the men, but declined to share details. No drugs were found in the vehicle, he said.

The US Marine Corps identified the men as Tanner Kaltenberg, 19, of Madison, Wisconsin; Merax Dockery, 23, of Pottawatomie, Oklahoma; and Ivan Garcia, 23, of Naples, Florida.

The men were motor vehicle operators with different units at Camp Lejeune, said First Lt Raymond Fullbright, of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group.

“My deepest sympathy and condolences are extended to the family, friends, and colleagues of Lance Cpl Kaltenberg, Lance Cpl Dockery and Lance Cpl Garcia,” said Brig Gen Michael McWilliams, commander of the group.

“Our focus is providing the necessary resources and support to those impacted by their tragic loss as they navigate this extremely difficult time.”