'Vomiting through their noses': Students who overdosed on a Russian drug took several hits through the day - as it's revealed one boy is the son of a teacher at the elite school and another has a multi-millionaire father

• e-mail

The students who overdosed on a Russian designer drug took hits of the powder throughout the day - as it is revealed their parents include a senior teacher at the elite school and one of the Gold Coast's richest men.

Four boys are recovering in hospital while another three have been released after they took Phenibut on Wednesday at the prestigious $11,000-a-year Saint Stephen's College, in Upper Coomera, Queensland.

One of those in hospital ins the 15-year-old son of a prominent millionaire businessman, the Courier Mail reported, while another is the son of a teacher.

Police believe the students _ six aged 15 and one aged 14  _ used varying amounts of the drug in a number of doses throughout the day, first taking it on the school grounds before the school bell rang according to Nine News.

Five year 10 boys are fighting for their lives and two others have been hospitalised after a mass drug overdose at school. Pictured: One of the boys is taken to an ambulance

Four boys are recovering in hospital while another three have been released after they took Phenibut

Students suffered from dizziness, nausea and had their bodily systems slow down. A witness told police she saw the students vomiting through their noses.

Witnesses said the boys recorded videos of themselves using the drug on Snapchat.

Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Aubort said police were still awaiting toxicology results, and had yet to see video footage of the incident.

He said it was a warning about the dangers of drugs.

'No illicit drug is safe. We need to make sure we get all these drugs off the street,' he said.

In an open letter, school headmaster Jamie Dorrington said he had visited the students at Gold Coast University Hosptial twice.

'The past 24 hours have been a particularly distressing and emotional time for our school community,' he said.

'We are deeply appreciative of the heartfelt thoughts and prayers. We are co-operating fully with the Queensland Police Service's investigation into the incident.' 

So little is known about Phenibut - the drug reportedly used by the students - that doctors at the Gold Coast University Hospital are struggling to work out the best way to treat the students. 

Six boys aged 15 and one aged 14 were rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital after falling ill at Saint Stephen's College (pictured)

Cases involving the drug, which is not sold in Australia after being made illegal just last month, are so uncommon that hardly any people in the healthcare industry know what it is.

The Queensland vice president of the Australian Medical Association Dr Jim Finn said there was a deficit of local knowledge about Phenibut.

'No doctors in Australia are familiar with this drug,' he told news.com.au. 

'There is no drug that is the same as Phenibut in the country. So we are really working with an unknown substance here in Australia.'

Made in Russia in the 1960s, Phenibut is a central nervous system depressant used to treat anxiety and insomnia.

It is marketed in the US as a dietary supplement designed to 'help keep you calm'. 

Daily Mail Australia found it selling online for as little as $20, as police investigate if the boys bought it on the dark web. 

Medics are waiting for toxicology results before officially revealing which drug the boys took. Pictured: Police at the school

Dr Finn also said he had only been aware of one such cases involving the drug in Australia in the last three years.

In that case, the person bought the substance online to calm their nerves.

But instead they experienced some 'tranquiliser-like' side-effects, he told news.com.au. 

Police have seized several mobile phones and electronic devices as part of their investigation.

Queensland Police has also requested toxicology tests to confirm exactly what was taken.

The video of the boys taking the substance showed the label of the drug and the dosage they were taking, reported the Courier Mail.

Headmaster Jamie Dorrington, who has visited the boys at Gold Coast University Hospital, asked parents to tell their children not to share the video as police seized the mobile phones of the affected students.

Paramedics were called to the school in Upper Coomera at 12.48pm. Saint Stephen's College teaches students from Kindergarten to Year 12 

He wrote in an email: 'If your child receives any messages or film footage or audio files relating to today's incident they MUST NOT forward to any other person.

'This is not a request from my office but from the Queensland Police Service.' 

Medics are waiting for toxicology results expected on Thursday before officially revealing which drug the boys took.

'It would appear this was an overdose. We believe they have swallowed the drug,' Pat Berry of Queensland Ambulance Service said.

'There are several students that are actually helping us with the lines of inquiry we have got,' Inspector Wormald said. Pictured: Paramedics at the scene

He warned teenagers not to take drugs, adding: 'It's just Russian roulette. There really is no such thing as a recreational drug.' 

On Wednesday afternoon police investigating where the drugs came from set up two crime scenes at places in the school where the drugs were taken.

The teenagers were 'giddy and nauseous' and 'unaware of their surroundings' when paramedics arrived around 1pm. 

They were all conscious when they were taken to hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit.

'We are making some inquiries as to whether or not they have actually purchased it off the internet themselves,' Inspector Tony Wormald said.

'There is that possibility but it is early days in the investigation. It is a very sobering update really. It's very serious.'

 'It would appear this was an overdose. We believe they have swallowed the drug,' Pat Berry of Queensland Ambulance Service said. Pictured: The school

'There are several students that are actually helping us with the lines of inquiry we have got,' Inspector Wormald added.

'The taking of illicit drugs seems to be very prevalent at the moment.'

The 'Russian wonder drug': What's phenibut?

Phenibut is a central nervous system depressant used to treat anxiety and insomnia.

It was first made in Russia in the 1960s and is marketed in the US as a dietary supplement designed to 'help keep you calm'.

On February 1 Australia became the first country to make it illegal due to health concerns.

It is said to be highly addictive with side effects including headaches and depression.

Before the ban, it was easy to buy online without a prescription as a nutritional supplement in powder. 

Advertisement

Police are trying to find out who supplied the drugs and warn they will face 'serious charges.' 

Upset parent Claudia Stoessel told the Gold Coast Bulletin: 'I just got here and saw all the police and the ambulances and I didn't even get told anything.'  

'It gave me a heart attack because my son is 14 and people were saying it was a 14 year old, it was so scary.'

It comes just weeks after the school's senior vice-captain Brittany Hills was found dead under a bridge at Paradise Point after a suspected suicide.

One mother told the Courier Mail: 'We are still mourning one student. I don't think anyone could cope with losing another.'

Headmaster Jamie Dorrington said in a statement on Wednesday: 'A number of students attended the Health Centre today, seven students have been taken to hospital. All the student's parents went with them.

'It is likely the students have ingested some kind of substance. While this is obviously of concern to me, it does allow me to reassure you that their illness was not due to anything contagious.

'The Queensland Ambulance Service has just been with the Executive staff and noted that the school's response was exactly as they would have liked it to have been. Students all received appropriate care as soon as we were alerted to the problem.

'I have been advised by Queensland Ambulance that if students were to exhibit any symptoms it would have occurred by now.'