ALAMO, N.M. – Navajo authorities confirmed two people died and 14 others were injured during a traditional religious ceremony.
KOAT-TV reports Christina Tsosie with the Navajo Police Department said the 14 injured people were treated for smoke inhalation.
Tsosie said the ceremony lasts throughout the night and involves an open fire pit burning inside a hogan, a traditional Navajo structure typically built out of logs and earth.
Tsosie said Alamo first responders performed CPR on the two people, but attempts were unsuccessful. Their causes of death have not been determined.
Police said the ceremony began Saturday in a hogan on the Alamo Navajo Reservation in Socorro County.
They said a woman reported finding an unresponsive man and woman Sunday on the floor inside the hogan.
