The BC coroners鈥� service says up to 13 people died from drug overdoses in the province within hours, six of them in Vancouver鈥檚 Downtown Eastside.
Health officials said that in addition to the six overdose deaths in the Vancouver neighbourhood, another two were suspected to be drug-related, and five others died elsewhere in the province.
"We are not sure what has caused this very distressing spike in fatalities," said chief coroner Lisa Lapointe in a statement. "It will take detailed toxicology testing and further investigation to try to determine that."
Authorities have blamed the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl for the surge in drug-related deaths over the past year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 desperate times in Vancouver, and it鈥檚 hard to see any silver lining right now when we don鈥檛 seem to have hit rock bottom with the number of people dying,鈥� said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. 鈥淲e are at out wits end here.鈥�
Canada鈥檚 fentanyl crisis has been escalating for several months now. More than 600 people have died in B.C. alone. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admits more needs to be done.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something we are seeing unfold in communities across the country and we need to do a better job of responding to it and saving people from the opioid crisis,鈥�
Vancouver Fire Chief John McKearney said his department responded to more than 750 overdoses last month. December is on track to top that figure with 353 reported in the first two weeks. He estimates there could be as many as 1,600 reports of overdoses in 2016.
Frontline workers have been using Naloxone, which can reverse fentanyl overdoses. But Robertson said Naloxone isn鈥檛 enough -- those suffering from addiction need long-term help.
鈥淩ight now there鈥檚 a huge gap in the system, and it鈥檚 failing those people who put up their hand and asked for help to get clean,鈥� said Const. Adam Palmer.
鈥淚t's going to take dramatic and immediate action from the B.C. government to invest in treatment options," said Robertson at a press conference Friday.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark promised to add 500 beds by early next year. So far, only 200 have been made available. Most of which are already taken.
With a report from CTV鈥檚 Vancouver Bureau Chief Melanie Nagy and files from The Canadian Press
