Seven inmates at a Kentucky jail reportedly overdosed within hours of each other in the same cell Monday.
The overdoses occurred in three separate incidents just hours apart and in the same cell, according to Big Sandy Regional Detention Center Administrator Byron Hansford, reported WYMT.
Official: 7 inmates overdose at Big Sandy Regional Detention Center https://t.co/12JhzbuA3Y
— WYMT (@WYMT) November 22, 2021
“Fortunately, our staff, while doing security checks of the cells, found these individuals and contacted medical staff and they were all treated with Narcan and sent to Paul B. Hall Medical Center,” Hansford said, WYMT reported.
The inmates who overdosed were at the facility for less than six days when the overdoses occurred, according to WYMT. Investigators have not yet identified the drugs that caused the overdoses. (RELATED: American Overdose Deaths Surged To Record High Amid COVID-19 Lockdowns)
Four of the inmates returned to the detention center while three are still being treated in the hospital, WYMT reported.
“All indications are that they’re fine and should be back in the facility today sometime,” Hansford said Monday, according to the outlet.
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released data Wednesday showing that more than 100,000 have died from drug overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021, up from 78,000 during the previous year. Kentucky in particular saw an increase in overdose deaths by more than 50% from the previous year.
Two doctors in Florence, Kentucky, were indicted in February for their involvement in a conspiracy that distributed opioids. The two doctors were linked to the overdose deaths of at least six of their former patients.
The Big Sandy Regional Detention Center did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller for comment.