2 dead, 4 others taken to hospital after overdoses in Grande Prairie

Two men died and four other people were taken to hospital early Sunday after overdosing on drugs in Grande Prairie.

Emergency medical services were already on scene at a home when RCMP arrived and confirmed that two men were dead, Grande Prairie RCMPsaid in a news release Sunday.

Three other males and one female were taken to hospital "due to their condition," police said.

"Preliminary investigation revealed that the substance used was a crystallized bluish/purple substance," the news release said.

RCMPare warning people in the northwestern Alberta city that street drugs may be laced withfentanyl, carfentanil, 2-Fluorodeschloroketamine, or methamphetamine.

Police don't yet know what substances were taken by the people who overdosed Sunday.

"Something was consumed. There is possibility that something else was there," Sgt. Shawn Graham told CBCNews on Sunday.

"You don't see that happening frequently like that, so that's why it's important to get it out there."

On Sept. 22, Grande Prairie RCMPissued a drug alert after laboratory analysis on a seized batch of drugs confirmed that they contained other substances.

In July, RCMPconducting an investigation following a traffic stop seized a substance believed to be fentanyl.

The suspected fentanyl was sent to a Health Canada laboratory for analysis. The results of analysis indicated the substance contained fentanyl, MDMA, cocaine, methamphetamine, caffeine and 2-Fluorordeschloroketamine.

"These substances could represent a threat to people handling it without taking the appropriate health and safety precautions," Graham said.

"And there certainly is an increased risk when different drugs are combined with each other and users are unaware of the content of the drugs that they're consuming."

He said people using drugs need to take safety precautions.

"That means to have things on hand like the naloxone and things like that, that would be appropriate, as well as other people around," he said.