Woman dies, another in ICU after mass drug overdose at Gold Coast hotel

Emergency companies arrived at a lodge on the waterfront of Surfers Paradise at 11.30pm on Friday to seek out seven ladies, who have been all aged 43, struggling to breathe.

Paramedics tried to avoid wasting the lifetime of one of many ladies however she died on the scene.

Two different ladies have been taken to the Gold Coast College Hospital in a vital situation, one in all which is within the intensive care unit and the opposite is now steady.

4 others have been assessed and didn’t want additional therapy.

It’s unclear what medicine brought on the suspected mass overdose, nonetheless, early studies have referred to the substance as a “drug cocktail,” together with ketamine, GHB or fantasy.

Queensland Ambulance Senior Operations Supervisor Mitchell Ware mentioned Queensland Police would carry out a toxicology report to find out sort of drug that was ingested.

Ware mentioned the medicines paramedics suspected the group had taken typically rendered individuals unconscious and stopped individuals respiration.

“If you do not get specialist care, you’ll die,” Ware mentioned.

Ware mentioned they have been on an evening out however he was not sure of the occasions main as much as the incident.

“There isn’t any such factor as a protected drug,” Ware mentioned.

“When persons are clearly shopping for these medicine there is a component of threat,” he mentioned.

“You do not know what is going on into them… You do not know who’s made them.

“You might be instructed one factor it could be one thing fully totally different.

“Anytime you’re taking one thing that is not prescribed there’s clearly a component of threat to that.”

He mentioned the drug fantasy was an issue for the neighborhood Australia-wide.

“We have not seen a downward developments, if something, we have in all probability seen a rise,” Ware mentioned.

“We’re going to these sufferers frequently… In addition they can turn out to be violent, you realize predisposing our paramedics to occupational violence as properly.

“These occasions have gotten much more to common and so they clearly occupy quite a lot of the ambulances’ time.”

Investigations are ongoing.