Woman who died after mass drug overdose on Gold Coast named

A woman who died during a suspected mass drug overdose at her 40th birthday celebrations on the Gold Coast has been remembered as kind, courageous and a “force to be reckoned with”.

Danielle Whittaker was celebrating her 40th birthday with six close friends at an apartment in Surfers Paradise on Friday.

Danielle Whittaker died during a suspected mass drug overdose at her 40th birthday celebrations on the Gold Coast.Credit: Facebook

Police were called to the apartment about 11pm after members of the group overdosed, including Whittaker who was reported to be unconscious and not breathing.

Seven women were under the influence of drugs when paramedics arrived.

Whittaker was in cardiac arrest and died at the scene.

“My beautiful darling girl Danielle - you are so loved and missed. You were a force to [be] reckon[ed] with,” one friend wrote on Facebook.

“Kind, courageous, sensitive, hilarious, fierce, upfront, honest ... all of those things and so much more.

“I am absolutely devastated and can’t believe you are no longer here, especially because we were supposed to be celebrating our 40th birthdays together.”

Two other women, both aged 43, were taken to Gold Coast University Hospital, each in a critical condition.

On Saturday morning, one woman continued to fight for her life in the intensive care unit, while the other was stable.

The four remaining women were assessed by paramedics at the scene but refused to be taken to hospital.

Mitchell Ware, of the Queensland Ambulance Service, passed on his condolences to the woman’s family.

“Unfortunately, despite specialists’ attempts on the scene, which included our high acuity response unit, that patient was unable to be revived and was declared deceased,” the Gold Coast senior operations supervisor said.

“The other two were not breathing for themselves, so paramedics obviously had to provide supplemental oxygen for them.”

Danielle Whittaker died at the scene on Friday.Credit: Facebook

Only two weeks after speaking about recreational drugs, Ware said he was frustrated to be warning people again that there was no such thing as a safe drug.

“You don’t know what’s going into them, you don’t know who’s made them,” he said.

“You may be told one thing, it may be something completely different.

“There’s always an element of risk.”

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.