Two men who suffered drug overdoses in downtown Montreal late Wednesday night are expected to survive, thanks to paramedics who administered the opiate-blocking medication naloxone.
A passerby called 9-1-1 at around 11:30 p.m. when he spotted the two men unconscious in the passageway linking the Bell Centre to the Lucien-L'Allier metro station. The men still had needles sticking out of their legs.
It is believed the pair, who had arrived in Montreal from Val d'Or earlier this week, had consumed heroin or fentanyl or a combination of both.
The men, 32 and 40 years old, were both taken to hospital. Both are expected to pull through.
The drugs the pair did not use were seized, and will be tested to determine their contents.
Public health officials in Montreal said at least 12 people had died in Montreal in the past month after using fentanyl.
On Wednesday, Lucie Charlebois, the minister in charge of public health, announced pharmacies would soon be distributing naloxone kits free of charge.