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Students from private school critical after mass overdose

Seven students hospitalised in a mass drug overdose are suspected of sourcing a Russian anti-anxiety drug online.

The students, all aged between 14 and 15, had been rushed to the Gold Coast University Hospital after becoming “very giddy” and “not aware of their surroundings”, paramedics said.
The students, all aged between 14 and 15, had been rushed to the Gold Coast University Hospital after becoming “very giddy” and “not aware of their surroundings”, paramedics said.

Seven students from a top Gold Coast private school hospitalised in a mass drug overdose are suspected of sourcing Russian anti-­anxiety medication on the internet.

With four of the Saint Stephen’s College students remaining in a critical condition last night, Queensland Police confirmed it was investigating whether the substance the students consumed was purchased online.

The students, all aged between 14 and 15, had been rushed to the Gold Coast University Hospital after becoming “very giddy” and “not aware of their surroundings”, paramedics said.

“One was having trouble with his consciousness, others were feeling nauseous,” Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Patrick Berry said outside the school yesterday.

The results of toxicology tests on the seven boys are expected to be delivered to police today.

It’s understood paramedics at the scene suggested the students may have taken an antidepressant drug sourced from Russia via the internet. There was speculation last night that the drug was Phenibut, an anti-anxiety medication first prescribed in Russia in the 1960s.

Police refused to confirm which drug the boys were suspected of taking. “Whatever it is, it’s a dangerous drug,” Inspector Tony Wormald said. “Irrespective of what it is, they’ve taken something they shouldn’t have.”

Inspector Wormald said police were “more concerned with where they got the drugs from and why they’ve taken it”, and were making inquiries into “whether or not they’ve purchased it on the internet themselves.”

One student told Nine Network News outside the school: “A friend had some antidepressants that he was on. They took them as well and they overdosed on them.”

A stream of paramedics arrived at the school — which charges fees of up to $11,258 a year — at 12.48pm yesterday, wheeling out students on stretchers while bed sheets were held up to shield them from view.

Headmaster Jamie Dorrington said the parents of the students had also gone to the hospital to be at their sides. He and the school’s chaplain joined them last night.

“It is likely the students have ingested some kind of substance,” Mr Dorrington said in a message to parents. “While this is obviously of concern to me, it does allow me to reassure you that their illness was not due to anything contagious.”

Last night, Mr Dorrington warned parents that Queensland Police had asked that any “mess­ages or film footage or audio files relating to today’s incident” received by their children not be forwarded to anyone.

Yesterday, Mr Berry said paramedics had found the students in various conditions.

“It would appear that a group of boys … had ingested some sort of substance and deteriorated in their health,” he said.

“Queensland Ambulance Service has transported seven males — six aged 15 and one aged 14 — to the Gold Coast University Hos­pital. Of those males, four are in a critical condition, one is a serious condition and the remainder are stable.”

It comes at a difficult time for the school after the sudden death of its 17-year-old vice-captain, Brittany Hills, last month. The death was not suspicious.

Additional Reporting: Sarah Elks

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/students-from-private-school-critical-after-mass-overdose/news-story/ce701b4dac42b91250efae93467c8500