Two women were transported to Gold Coast University Hospital in Queensland in critical condition. - PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM GOOGLE MAPS via The Straits Times/ANN
SYDNEY (Xinhua): A woman died and two others were hospitalised after a mass drug overdose took place in the Australian state of Queensland on March 29.
Just before 11pm local time, emergency services responded to reports of multiple drug overdoses occurring at a hotel in Surfers Paradise, a beachside suburb in the city of Gold Coast.
Upon arrival, paramedics identified a total of seven patients at the scene. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said they were all 43 years old.
“One was in cardiac arrest at the time. Unfortunately, despite specialists’ attempts, which included a high acuity response unit, that patient was unable to be revived at the scene and was declared deceased,” Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Mitchell Ware said at a press conference on March 30.
Another two women were transported to Gold Coast University Hospital in critical condition. One continued to fight for her life in the intensive care unit on the morning of March 30, while the other was classified as stable.
Four other women were also assessed at the scene but did not need transport for further treatment.
The drugs involved have yet to be confirmed, and the state’s police force will prepare a toxicology report. However, the ABC said early reports have referred to the substance as a “drug cocktail”, including ketamine, GHB or fantasy.
“We spoke about this, about two weeks ago, this concept of party drugs or recreational drugs. There is no such thing as a safe drug. There is no such thing as a party drug. When people are buying these drugs, there is an element of risk,” Ware noted.
He expressed “frustration” over people’s disregard for the warning, noticing that drug overdoses “happen every day” across the state, and it is “very common” for paramedics to attend to multiple patients on a daily basis.
“That is not just a one-off. The other night, we had three patients that all went unconscious in Southport. These events are becoming far more regular and obviously occupy a lot of the ambulances and a lot of the Queensland Ambulance Services resources as well,” said Ware. - Xinhua
