Young man in coma after suffering cardiac arrest at Cocktails Nightclub in Surfers Paradise

Police have revealed what friends have told them about a young man now fighting for his life after a Surfers Paradise nightclub collapse. Read the updates

A young man who collapsed on a popular Gold Coast nightclub dancefloor had stopped breathing and friends told police he’d consumed cocaine, police have revealed.

The man, 27, remainsed fighting for life in a coma on Monday after collapsing at longtime Surfers Paradise party strip institution Cocktails in the early hours of Sunday.

Ambulance staff and police rushed to the Orchid Ave venue where they encountered the man suffering a cardiac arrest just after midnight.

A Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said he was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a “life-threatening condition”.

Gold Coast police Acting Superintendent Scott Knowles, in an update on Monday, said the nightclub was evacuated during the incident as paramedics desperately tried to revive him.

“(He) had actually stopped breathing. CPR was commenced,” Acting Supt Knowles said.

A man suffered a cardiac arrest at a Gold Coast nightclub early on Sunday morning.

Acting Supt Knowles said friends of the man had told police he had consumed cocaine before going to the club where he had “just collapsed”.

“The challenge with these illicit drugs is you just don’t know what they’ve been mixed with, what their purity is, so you’re really taking your life into your own hands by consuming them.

Acting Superintendent Scott Knowles: “The challenge with these illicit drugs is you just don’t know what they’ve been mixed with.” Picture: Nigel Hallett

“Unfortunately, this gentleman has experienced that now and hopefully he’ll make it through, but at the moment he still remains in a critical condition.”

The man remained in a critical condition in a coma on Monday morning, Acting Supt Knowles added.

Police have revealed the man, 27, who collapsed on the Cocktails dancefloor stopped breathing - and friends have told them he had consumed cocaine prior.

Cocktails nightclub owner Lino Girardi said security staff saw the young man collapse and that people from the nearby Chill Out Zone - also on Orchid Ave - acted quickly to help him before emergency services arrived.

“All the staff were upset, they said it was a terrible situation, it was horrible,” Mr Girardi said.

‘The Chill Out Zone people were the first there.

“When he collapsed, the security guard was only one metre away and saw it happen so he got the Chill Out people.

“They did all they could.”

The Chill Out Zone is a project of the Gold Coast Youth Service, and funded by the Queensland Government through the Department of Communities.

Cocktails and Dreams nightclub owner Lino Girardi: “All the staff were upset, they said it was a terrible situation, it was horrible.”

The weekend incident comes just a few months after a suspected mass drug overdose at Surfers Paradise which claim the life of 40-year-old Danielle Whitaker and left two others hospitalised in serious conditions.

Ms Whittaker was partying with six other friends on Good Friday at a Surfers Paradise high-rise apartment when she is believed to have consumed a cocktail of drugs and fell unconscious.

Paramedics were unable to revive here.

Two other women, both aged 43, were rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital with breathing difficulties.

The Gold Coast Glitter Strip is already under intense scrutiny pending a Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation crackdown on discount drinks being promoted at Orchid Ave’s newcomer Fabric.

Fabric has been advertising $3 basic spirits, sparking official complaints from competitors who say it’s uneconomic and risks increased intoxication and bad behaviour.

OLGR staff have called a meeting with nightclub operators this week over discount drinks.