Parents at hospital bedside as St Stephen’s College students fight for life in ICU
UPDATE: FIVE students remain in Gold Coast University Hospital and two have been released after a mass drug overdose at a Saint Stephen’s College yesterday. It comes as police revealed they’d recovered some of the illegal drug taken by the teen boys and now had an understanding of how much was ingested.
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UPDATE: FIVE students remain in Gold Coast University Hospital and two have been released after a mass drug overdose at a Saint Stephen’s College yesterday.
It comes as police revealed they’d recovered some of the illegal drug taken by the teen boys and now had an understanding of how much was ingested.
A spokesperson for Gold Coast Health confirmed all five teen boys were ‘steadily improving’ but — at the request of parents — could not provide their actual condition. Two have improved so much they were released.
Last night, five students were fighting for their lives in a critical condition in intensive care at Gold Coast University Hospital. The remaining two students were serious or stable.
Police today revealed the seven took the substance — likely to be Russian ‘wonder drug’ Phenibut — over the course of several hours and started presenting with symptoms from lunchtime.
Det Sen Sgt Greg Aubort said a range of quantities were taken from “a taste to what I would call a significant amount which is what I would call dangerous”.
Police had recovered some of the substance from the scene at the school where crime scenes were still in place
He made a plea for anyone with any knowledge that more of the drug was available out there to come forward.
“We need to be sure we can account for all of the drug involved, by that, I mean the quantity,” he said, adding a key focus for police was ensuring any more of the substance — which was in powdered form — was recovered.
“If there is any information out there from any person at all, any student or family who has any information at this stage, we would appreciate that information coming to us at Crimestoppers.”
Police have managed to speak with the teenager discharged from hospital but it was early days.
The investigation was difficult given many of those key to it had been unable to communicate, he said.
He said police knew where the drug was consumed but declined to reveal where that was.
The parents of those teenagers in a critical condition in hospital were doing “as good as can be expected”.
“I would hate to put myself in their place knowing their children were in critical care,” he said.
Despite reports of footage and social media sharing of the alleged overdose existing, Det Sen Sgt Aubort said police had yet to uncover any evidence that had occurred.
But if it did exist, he would appreciate it being supplied to police.
He confirmed police yesterday did ask for any such footage not to be shared other than with Crimestoppers
EARLIER: Seven teenagers from prestigious Saint Stephen’s College were rushed to hospital earlier yesterday afternoon after slipping in and out of consciousness from swallowing what was believed to be a Russian designer drug.
WHAT THE STUDENTS OVERDOSED ON
Parents were last night conducting bedside vigils at Gold Coast University Hospital where someone close to the incident said five remained in a critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit.
Two others were believed to be serious or stable.
The students, aged 15 and 14, are in Year 10 and had filmed themselves ingesting the substance at school before sending footage off via social media.
A source told the Bulletin Russian designer drug phenibut — a relaxant with similar effects to Fantasy or GHB — is what was being fingered as the cause.
“That is what they are saying it is,” said the source, of the potentially toxic substance which is readily available online. “Obviously someone has brought it into the school.”
Emergency services were first called to the Coomera college grounds at 12.48pm after the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) were alerted to three students “on the verge of passing out”.
A QAS spokesman said paramedics on the scene called for reinforcements when four more students presented with similar symptoms.
Six ambulances, three critical care QAS units and a fleet of police descended on the school, shocking some oblivious parents arriving after 3pm to pick up kids.
Detectives have seized mobile phones and “electronic devices” as part of the investigation, a Queensland Police Service statement said last night.
Two crime scenes were set up at the school with the Coomera Criminal Investigation Branch and Child Protection Investigation Unit involved. Police continue to investigate the source of the drugs and were talking to “several students”.
Visibly upset College principal Dr Jamie Dorrington told media about 4pm his primary concern was the students and he would be joining their parents at hospital.
He later urged parents to ensure any of their children who received video footage of the incident not to share it.
“This is not a request from my office but from the Queensland Police Service. If your child receives any messages or film footage or audio files relating to today’s incident they must not forward to any other person,” he wrote.
Yesterday afternoon, Queensland Ambulance Service operations supervisor Pat Berry said it appeared the Year 10 boys had taken drugs and “we are leaning toward an overdose”. “It would appear from the initial response it is an overdose,” he said.
“I must applaud the response of the school to identify these children were deteriorating.”
The boys were all falling in and out of consciousness when paramedics arrived at the Reserve Road scene.
Medics are awaiting the results of toxicology reports to determine exactly what the students took and hope to have test results by today.
HOW THE HORRIFYING DRAMA UNFOLDED
Queensland police Acting Inspector Tony Wormald, speaking yesterday afternoon, said while unclear what the substance was it was clearly “dangerous”.
“They have taken something they shouldn’t have.”
Act. Insp. Wormald said it was too early to say whether charges would be laid.
“We are more concerned with where they got the drugs from and why they’ve taken it. And hopefully everybody pulls through safely.”
He could not rule out if the drugs ingested might have been bought off the internet and said whoever supplied them could face “very serious charges”.
“We’re taking it very seriously. You just don’t know what it is.
“People decide to take drugs with tragic consequences. The taking of illicit drugs seems to be very prevalent at the moment.
SCHOOL MOURNS STUDENT’S SUDDEN DEATH
“And you just don’t know what it is. People give you something, you don’t know what it is and you still take it with sometimes tragic consequences.”
A student at the school yesterday said: “The Year 10s were just doing some stupid stuff.”
A police statement last night said: “All illicit drugs are dangerous regardless how they are sold or what you’ve been told.
TIMELINE OF DRUG DRAMA
12.48pm: Emergency call made to Queensland Ambulance Service that three students at Saint Stephen’s had ingested something and “were on the verge of passing out”.
post-1pm: Paramedics at the scene called for more units to help when four more students started presenting with similar symptoms. Six ambulances and three critical care single-person units in total attend.
2.30pm: Seven students being treated by QAS paramedics transported to Gold Coast University Hospital.
3.30pm: Parents turning up to collect kids after school are oblivious to the drama and express shock on arrival to find ambulances and police on site.
4pm: Visibly distressed principal Jamie Dorrington addresses media at the school: “Our primary concern at the moment is the children and their wellbeing.”
4.15pm: Principal Dorrington confirms via Facebook the students have ingested “some kind of substance”. “It does allow me to reassure you their illness was not due to anything contagious.”
5pm: Bulletin sources say the drug overdosed on was phenibut, a Russian designer drug considered “dangerous” and toxic depending on the circumstances. It’s easily readily available online.
5.30pm: Seven students affected remain in Gold Coast University Hospital, four in a critical condition, one in a serious condition and two stable.
Today: Five of the students were in a critical condition in the Gold Coast University Hospital Intensive Care Unit with two others believed to be serious.
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