Chat-room saves Scot from drug overdose

Canadian emergency service tips off Edinburgh police

By Linda Harrison in New York • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 20th October 2000 20:29 GMT

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A Scot was saved from a nasty death by a drug and drink overdose yesterday when a woman in Canada spotted his predicament on an Internet chat-room.

The man, who had taken the lethal Valium and alcohol cocktail while depressed, asked for help in the chat-room. He was apparently having difficulty typing and was slurring his words while speaking via his computer microphone.

The woman in Calgary called the emergency services in Canada and informed them of the situation. Quick-thinking staff at Calgary Emergency Medical Serve contacted Scottish police, who whipped an ambulance round to the man's home and took him to hospital in Bannockburn, northwest of Edinburgh, where he was treated.

"I'm not sure of any other agencies that have had to work with callers and placing ambulances in other countries," Calgary EMS spokesman Doug Odney told Reuters.

"Someone in Calgary was aware of someone in a chat room, and once they started determining where he was, the way to activate it was by calling us. So we're glad we were able to help." ®