A mailroom supervisor at a California prison has died after coming into contact with mail “saturated in an unknown substance”, the US Federal Bureau of Prisons said.<\/b><\/p>\n
Marc Fischer – a coast guard veteran who had worked as a prisons employee for 23 years – began to feel “unwell” after he was exposed to the substance at Atwater Prison in California. He died after he was rushed to a hospital, a spokesperson for the agency said.<\/p>\n
A second worker was also exposed and hospitalised, but has been released, the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n
“On Friday, August 9, USP Atwater and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, lost one of our own,” the Bureau of Prisons said. “Tragically, despite swift response from his co-workers and local emergency medical services, Supervisory Correctional Systems Specialist Marc Fischer was pronounced deceased upon arriving at the local hospital.”<\/p>\n
Authorities have launched an investigation into Fischer’s death. Law enforcement is trying to determine whether the mail may have been saturated in fentanyl, according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n
Visitations at the California facility have been suspended until further notice, according to the prison website.<\/p>\n
Atwater prison is a high-security facility for men in Merced County, California, 130 miles (209 km) from San Francisco. Around 1,200 people are incarcerated there.<\/p>\n
Fischer spent his career at the California prison, working as a correctional officer for three years before being promoted to Supervisory Correctional Systems Specialist in 2009, the Bureau of Prisons said.<\/p>\n
Fischer leaves behind a wife, son, daughter and “countless grieving friends and colleagues”, the agency said.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"