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Zombie apocalypse: Ambos reveal how party drug overdose swept the Gold Coast

It was a horror weekend on the Gold Coast for police and paramedics as 16 people were affected by a mass drug overdose, believed to be sparked by a 'zombie drug'.

Queensland Ambulance Service have revealed the timeline of events during the 'mass overdose' as suspected drug 'flakka' swept the area.


HORROR WEEKEND: HOW PARTY DRUG SWEPT THE GOLD COAST


  • Saturday, just after midnight: Paramedics treat three males celebrating an end of year football trip at the Islander Hotel. One of the men went into respiratory distress and remains in a critical condition.

  • Saturday 7:39am: Four males and one female were found drug affected at Mermaid Waters residence.

  • Sunday 12:37am: 24-year-old woman found ‘hallucinating’ at Shooters nightclub.

  • 1:27am: Another woman needed to be sedated on Orchid Avenue.

  • 2:09am: 22-year-old man treated on Cavill Avenue.

  • 2:42am: Paramedics called to Sin City nightclub to attend to 18-year-old woman.

  • 2:36am: Another reveller treated at Melbas nightclub.

  • 3:11am: Ambulances services return to Sin City to treat 20-year-old woman.

  • 4:30am: 25-year-old man found drug affected inside hotel room on Cavill Avenue.

  • Another man was treated by paramedics in the suburb of Labrador, but had previously been partying in the Surfers Paradise area.


'WORST CASE I'VE SEEN'

Two people are in induced comas and 14 others are recovering after the drug overdoses, sparking fears the unknown substance could have a deadly impact on Schoolies celebrations.

The 16 overdoses happened within a 48-hour period, with senior paramedic Stephen Burns saying it was the worst he had seen in his career.

“This is the largest cohort of similar drug overdose incidents I've see in the 24 years I've been working on the Gold Coast,” he said.

The first cases were recognised just after midnight on Saturday morning, when three men celebrating the end of a football season were found drug-affected in their hotel room at the Islander Resort Hotel.

At 7:39am, paramedics were called to a home in Mermaid Waters where four men and a woman were taken to hospital.

By midnight on Saturday, things had gotten a lot worse.

Paramedics found a 24-year-old female hallucinating inside Shooters Nightclub during the early hours of Sunday morning.

At 1:27am on the same street, another young woman had to be sedated.

Then, on Cavill Avenue, two different episodes occurred just six minutes apart inside nightclubs Sin City and Melbas.

Paramedics were called back to Sin City half an hour later to attend to another young woman.

Finally at 4:30am, a 25-year-old man overdosed in an apartment.


Another man was treated at a home in Labrador, with the Queensland Ambulance Service confirming that he had been in the Surfers Paradise area earlier in the night.

QAS Director of Media and Communications Michael Augustus issued a warning to young revellers ahead of the Gold Coast 600 next weekend and Schoolies Week in November.

"There is no such thing as a party drug, these are simply dangerous drugs. They can and will kill," Mr Augustus told Yahoo7.

"We’re certainly raising education that there's some stuff on the streets that are causing problems."

The Courier Mail reports all Queensland police rostered to work during this weekend’s Gold Coast 600 will be advised on how to respond to users of flakka.

Inspector Des Hearn told News Corp more than 300 officers working across the three-day event would be instructed on flakka.

QAS Operations supervisor Paul Young said most of the overdose victims were experiencing the same symptoms.

“Very agitated, doing things they wouldn't normally do, not rational with their decision making at all,” he said.

Those symptoms are similar to the side effects of flakka, a synthetic substance that gives the user a euphoric feeling but has ended with instances of murder or users leaping from balconies.

It is often referred to as the "zombie drug".

In five weeks, 30,000 schoolies will arrive in Surfers Paradise, prompting police to warn all party-goers to be cautious and to steer clear from dangerous drugs.

“The message is you don't know who's making them, you don't know what’s in them, so don't take them,” Gold Coast District Duty Officer Bruce Pearce said.

'Flakka' has been nicknamed the 'Zombie Drug'. Photo: Supplied
'Flakka' has been nicknamed the 'Zombie Drug'. Photo: Supplied


Toxicologists will determine if the 16 hospitalised were using flakka.

The hallucinogenic drug is believed to be behind a bizarre double murder case in the US, where a 19-year-old university student was reportedly found biting flesh off the face of one of his victims.

Austin Harrouff was only released from hospital last week after spending two months recovering following his flakka overdose.

Local media reported that the teen had ‘superhuman strength’ during the ordeal, as both a taser and a police dog were unable to remove him from his victims.

Top news stories - October 17