Possible fentanyl overdose lands 6 students on spring break in Florida hospitals

Six students on spring break overdosed on what appeared to be cocaine laced with fentanyl and were hospitalized in Fort Lauderdale Thursday, and one was in critical condition, CBS Miami reports. It happened at an Airbnb.

Four went into cardiac arrest after ingesting the drug before two friends tried to help by performing CPR. That’s when they were also exposed to the drug, the station says.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Gollan told CBS Miami five were in stable condition.

Gollan told WPLG-TV the opioid-overdose-reversing drug naloxone was administered.

“These are healthy young adults, college students in the prime of their life,” Gollan said. “Getting this drug into their system, it’s unknown what the recovery will be on the critical individual.”

He told CBS Miami the incident “brings great concern that there could be other ODs over the next couple of days. Obviously if there’s a bad batch, it’s not isolated just to one buyer. It normally goes to everyone that purchases that same substance from whoever they got it from.”

One neighbor observed to CBS Miami that, “They seem like good kids, typical college kids. Rowdy in the pool, but they don’t deserve this.”

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