Student dies in Birmingham after mixing drugs and alcohol, inquest hears

A student has died in Birmingham after mixing drugs and alcohol.

Phoyphaylin Soukchaleun, a 20-year-old student from Laos who was holidaying in Birmingham, died after she took cocaine and alcohol, an inquest has heard.

The morning after Phoyphaylin mixed the two substances she became unwell. Paramedics arrived on the scene on 28th October last year, during which time she tragically suffered a cardiac arrest.

She was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Selly Oak shortly after 11:30am. In an attempt to save her life, Phoyphaylin was put on advanced life support. However, due to her condition, she was past the point of resuscitation and was pronounced dead just after 1pm.

An inquest in writing, chosen for uncomplicated and undisputed cases, was conducted by area coroner Emma Brown in place of a traditional courtroom hearing. The inquiry confirmed that Phoyphaylin, a resident of Xaysetha in Vientiane, died from a drug-related cause, with the official cause of death listed as “cocaine toxicity and alcohol.”

According to Birmingham Live, the inquest in writing said: “Ms Soukchaleun was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital at 11.38 on 28th October 2024 having suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest while paramedics were in attendance.

“They had been called to the property where she was staying while on holiday in the United Kingdom and had become poorly after consuming alcohol and multiple lines of cocaine the evening before. 

“Despite advanced life support she died at 13.12 that day. There is nothing to suggest she deliberately caused her own death.”

Birmingham and the surrounding region have long struggled with drug-related deaths, a problem repeatedly highlighted in inquests over the years.

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Her death occurred amid a surge in drug-related fatalities in the West Midlands, which recently recorded its highest-ever levels. An October report – the month of her passing – revealed that 518 people died from drug poisoning in the region in 2023, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Of these deaths, 338 were men, and 376 were classified as “drug misuse”. The total marked the highest number of drug poisoning fatalities since records began in 1993, reflecting a nearly 30 per cent increase from 2022, when 404 drug-related deaths were recorded.