A British woman said she nearly died after her drink was spiked while she was on holiday in Malia.
Emily Earle, 19, was on a girls trip to Crete, Greece, with four of her friends when they headed to a party. After just two hours, while sipping her third drink, Emily started feeling very unwell and fell asleep on the table at just 5.30pm.
She said she felt really drunk and wandered of searching for a toilet as her friends were waiting for a taxi – her friends found her within a couple of minutes in a hotel room with a group of boys.
They took Emily back to their hotel, but after a few hours, she was struggling to breathe and falling in and out of consciousness, and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, the 19-year-old from Crawley, West Sussex, said.
Emily said doctors confirmed she had swallowed drugs, and she thinks a fellow party-goer must have slipped something into one of her drinks.
Emily Earle, 19, was on a girls trip to Crete, Greece , with four of her friends when they headed to a party. After just two hours, while sipping her third drink, Emily started feeling very unwell and fell asleep on the table at just 5.30pm (Emily pictured in her hotel room during the ordeal)
They took Emily back to their hotel, but after a few hours, she was struggling to breathe and falling in and out of consciousness, and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance (pictured above), the 19-year-old from Crawley, West Sussex, said
Emily (pictured) said doctors confirmed she had swallowed drugs, and she thinks a fellow party-goer must have slipped something into one of her drinks
Emily, a medical student from King’s College London, said: ‘This was a horrible experience which was really traumatic for me, my family and my friends.
‘I nearly lost my life. I was wary of the heat and the party was extremely busy so I didn’t drink much. I knew something was very wrong because I suddenly felt very out of it and couldn’t remember things.
‘I dread to think what could have happened if I had become separated from my friends. Shortly after getting back to our hotel I was in a critical condition because I was struggling to breathe – I deteriorated very fast.
‘My friends and family were terrified. They thought they were losing me. My memory is patchy from around 5.30pm and I don’t remember much after leaving the party.
‘Being spiked feels like one of those things that happens to someone else, or people who aren’t careful, but it can happen to anyone, no matter how careful you are.
‘It’s very scary. You feel like you’ve got no control – all your choices have been taken away from you.’
Emily and her friends headed out on June 23. They were on the Malia strip on Wednesday, June 26, when they bought tickets for a party.
At the event, Emily says she had a Malibu and Coke, and a sex on the beach cocktail, before starting a vodka and pineapple.
She felt really drunk suddenly and began falling asleep. She said: ‘I just couldn’t understand it – none of my drinks had been strong.’
Emily’s friends got her some food, and she had two BLTs, a burger and an ice-cream, but was still ravenous and very thirsty.
‘That was very out of character’, she said. ‘I’d usually be fine after one BLT – they were massive.’
Emily’s friends took her back to the hotel around 7.30pm. Despite their vigilance she wandered off searching for a toilet while they waited for a taxi.
Emily (pictured during the ordeal) said: ‘I nearly lost my life. I was wary of the heat and the party was extremely busy so I didn’t drink much. I knew something was very wrong because I suddenly felt very out of it and couldn’t remember things’
Emily said she woke up the following morning feeling well, and was told there were drugs found in her stomach, but medics couldn’t say which drugs without a full toxicology report which needed to be requested by the police
They found her within a couple of minutes in a hotel room with a group of boys. Back at their hotel they put her to bed and her condition deteriorated fast, and she lay on the floor.
Emily’s hands and feet were freezing to touch and her skin red and blotchy. Her breathing was shallow and rapid and she couldn’t feel her legs or open her eyes, and was losing consciousness. Hotel staff called an ambulance.
Her frightened friends FaceTimed Emily’s family – and they all thought she might die, Emily says. She was taken to Herculanium University Hospital at around 9pm, where she was put on a drip.
She said she woke up the following morning feeling well, and was told there were drugs found in her stomach, but medics couldn’t say which drugs without a full toxicology report which needed to be requested by the police.
She doesn’t know what other treatment she received at the hospital because of the language barrier.
Emily’s mother arrived at the resort in the early afternoon, and the group flew back to the UK on Sunday June 30.
Emily said: ‘I really have no idea how it happened – we were so careful. We are very sensible and we did everything as a group. We were together all the time.
‘I’m very aware of the risks and very cautious. A boy bought me a drink when we arrived and I didn’t touch it. If I had to put a drink down for any reason I didn’t go back to it.
‘I had my hand over the top of my drinks when I wasn’t drinking it and I even took my drinks to the toilet with me. I can only imagine someone nudged me and someone else slipped something in while I was distracted – the party was really crowded.
‘Everyone was searched on the way in, but if someone wants to bring in drugs they’ll find a way. The most frightening part for me is the motive of whoever did this – was it just for a laugh or because they wanted me to go back to their hotel room?’
The language barrier meant Emily wasn’t able to get much information about her hospital stay, and put her off reporting the incident to the police.
Emily cautioned others to be vigilant, to not leave your drink unattended and to stay with your friends
She said: ‘A woman in the bed next to me said this is very common. We can’t prevent things like this from happening, but you can take steps to lessen the damage if it does happen to you or one of your friends.
‘You can’t be too careful. It’s really important to stick with your friends. Don’t accept a drink from someone else and don’t leave your drinks unattended.
‘Stay in your group and be very vigilant. Don’t drink anywhere near your limit – this can make it easier for someone to distract you.
‘If you’re not feeling right tell someone straight away. Look out for unusual behaviour from each other. If someone’s acting out of character stick with them and get them to somewhere safe as quickly as you can, because they could be taken.
‘My friends did a great job – we were all really careful but it still happened and has affected all of us.’
