Three people are in intensive care after nine were rushed to hospital following an emergency call for help at a suspected mass drug overdose in Perth. The incident took place just before midnight on Tuesday, with reports the property was being used as a house for international backpackers and students.
Neighbours in suburban Perth woke to emergency services swarming their street around midnight on Tuesday. Sebastian Arevalo described the scene outside his home.
"We came outside because we heard some loud noises, and, when we came out, there were just heaps and heaps of police cars and ambulances -- eight ambulances, six or seven police cars -- and it was just absolutely crazy."
Another neighbour, Sophie Benet, says she saw victims convulsing on stretchers as paramedics rushed out of the property.
"They were, like, all coming past in a line. It was so scary. And they had, like, glassed eyes, and they were all just, like, in a different world. It was so scary to look at. A lot of them were having seizures."
Seven men and two women were taken to hospital.
Police say a white, powdered drug was found at the property and has been sent to the West Australian chemistry centre for analysis. Three of the victims are in the intensive-care unit at Royal Perth Hospital.
Clinical toxicologist Jess Soderstrom says it was fortunate that medical help arrived when it did.
"The important thing is that medical help is sought as soon as they are unwell because, if it wasn't for the timely call of the other resident at the home, these patients, some of them, would have inevitably died."
The property is believed to be a house for foreign backpackers and students. Local residents say it is not the first time there have been issues at the property, claiming emergency services were also called to the house last weekend.
Dr Stephen Bright, from Edith Cowan University, is a strong advocate of focusing on harm reduction when approaching drug-related legislation. He says the Perth incident is another example why drug testing should be made publicly available.
"This event highlights the need for Australia to join the rest of the international community and engage in drug-checking."
Some of those who overdosed were released from the hospital just hours after being admitted. But Royal Perth Hospital emergency medical physician David McCutcheon has warned against taking the incident lightly.
"They were brought to us in a state of agitated delirium. They were hallucinating. Their hearts were racing. Several of them have had to be put in a medically induced coma for their own protection. And I really need to emphasise how seriously unwell they were."
