Tainted ecstasy blamed for deaths of 2 men in Chase

Two people have died in two separate drug-related incidents in the community of Chase, B.C., after taking what police believe to be tainted ecstasy, the local RCMP detachment said Wednesday.

A 51-year-old man died Tuesday at a home, while a 19-year-old man, who had been on life support, died in a Kamloops hospital Wednesday evening, RCMP Cpl. Mike Draper said.

In the Tuesday incident, a 911 call was placed around 3 a.m. that morning regarding a possible drug overdose at a Chase home. Police who went to the residence found the 51-year-old unresponsive on the floor. He was pronounced dead after failed attempts to revive him at the scene.

"His girlfriend confirmed that the deceased had been drinking, injecting drugs and smoking hash," Draper said.

The girlfriend also became ill and was taken to hospital, Draper said, but her condition is not known and police did not say whether she had taken any drugs.

About 3½ hours before the incident, a prior 911 call reporting a drug overdose was placed, and police located the 19-year-old man in a residence. The man's girlfriend at the home told police he had taken ecstasy and smoked marijuana that night.

Police believe a deadly batch of ecstasy is being sold in the village of Chase, about 58 kilometres northeast of Kamloops, Draper said.

"We are not a very big community, so these types of events don't occur all that frequently," Draper told CBC News.

"For this to happen in a quick succession like this, we fear that it could be just tainted drug."

Police have not released any names, and autopsies will be done in the next couple of days, Draper said.