19-year-old King’s student ‘nearly died’ after having drink spiked on holiday

Emily Earle was rushed to hospital after losing consciousness in Crete

2 months ago

A medical student at King’s College London “nearly died” after being spiked whilst on holiday with her friends.

19-year-old Emily Earl was on a night out with friends when she started to feel ill at 5:30pm, whilst sipping her third drink.

She was taken to hospital in an ambulance on Wednesday 26th June after she began slipping in and out of consciousness and struggling to breathe.

After arriving at a bar with friends for a night out, Emily noticed she began feeling strange and tired, falling asleep on the table, before experiencing extreme thirst.

via SWNS

Noticing something wasn’t quite right, her friends took her back to their hotel in Malia, where Emily began struggling to breathe and falling in and out of consciousness. An ambulance was then called.

via SWNS

After being rushed to the hospital and doctors assessing her, it had been confirmed she had in fact swallowed drugs. Emily then knew she had been spiked and her mum flew out to the resort to bring her back home to the UK.

Emily expressed the trauma she and her family and friends have felt from this event. Speaking about the events leading up to the spiking, she said: “I nearly lost my life.

“I was wary of the heat and the party was extremely busy so I didn’t drink much.”

via SWNS

Emily recalled feeling like something wasn’t right as she says her drinks weren’t that strong: “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 was separated from my friends.”

She then began to go downhill fast, struggling to breathe and stay conscious: “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.”

via SWNS

Emily woke up the next morning in the hospital, feeling better after being put on a drup. But due to the language barrier, Emily was not sure what other treatments she had received.

Medics explained that police would need to request a full toxicology report in order to decipher what drugs were in Emily’s system.

Recalling on the night’s events, Emily explained that a boy had bought her a drink when she arrived at the bar with her friends, but that she didn’t have any of it. She said: “A boy bought me a drink when we arrived and I didn’t touch it. If I had to put my drink down for any reason, I didn’t go back to it.”

The only explanation Emily could think of was that someone had nudged her and slipped something in her drink when she wasn’t looking.

via SWNS

“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?”

After making a recovery, Emily, her mum, and her friends, flew home safely back to the UK on Sunday 30 June 2024.

If you or someone you know has been affected by this story, please head to Drinkaware for more information on drink spiking. You can call Victim Support on 08 08 16 89 111 or find help via their website.