Police issue warning in Kelowna, B.C., after 5 people die from toxic drugs in 1 day

Mounties in the B.C. cities of Kelowna and West Kelowna said five people lost their lives to fatal drug overdoses in a nine hour span on Saturday.

They're asking drug users to take added precautions before using, such as having their drugs tested or visiting the city's safe consumption site.

"The RCMP are actively on the streets warning the people that they know are users and going to all the shelters," said Kelowna RCMP Const. Mike Della-Paolera in an interview.

"[We're] just making sure that people understand the dangers right now."

In a news release, RCMP said the first death was recorded just after 8 a.m. PT. Paramedics responded to a home on Saucier Avenue and found a man who was unresponsive.

Police said the 32-year-old man was found deceased in his bed and officers observed signs of drug use in the home.

Over the course of the day Saturday, Della-Paolera said officers responded to two other locations for fatal drug overdoses that killed four other people.

Della-Paolera said it appears the unprecedented cluster of deaths in Kelowna is a result of more toxic street drugs circulating in the city.

"We've never had multiple deaths before, so there's obviously some bad drugs out on the street right now," he said.  "It's still too early to tell the source, exactly what's involved — toxicology tests need to be done."

"God willing we won't have anymore."

Statistics from July from the B.C. Coroners Service said across the province, six people a day were dying on average from illicit toxic drugs.

Kelowna has a population of around 140,000 people, while West Kelowna has 38,000 residents.

Helen Jennens of Moms Stop the Harm Okanagan, says five deaths in a single day is unacceptable and more needs to be done to supply safe drugs to users and provide adequate resources for recovery.

"This is insanity," she said.