16 Sickened by Substance Given Out at Party

At least 16 revelers at a New Year’s Eve party at the Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles were rushed to hospitals--12 of them in serious to critical condition--after they drank a liquid that may have been the dangerous drug known as GHB, a city firefighter said.

Officials said the victims were overcome after drinking from some of the 100 bottles of a substance called “Herbal FX” that were distributed at the auditorium.

The revelers were at the party when they collapsed, officials said. Some of the victims had stopped breathing, emergency medical crews said.

Officials said other people at the auditorium may have been overcome. Fire officials said more ambulances were being sent to the auditorium at Grand Avenue and Washington Boulevard.

Those stricken at the “In Seventh Heaven” gathering were being transported by ambulances to three area hospitals.

Four of the victims were reported in stable condition. “Preliminary reports are that a liquid substance had been passed among the revelers at the Olympic Auditorium,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said. “It could be any one of a number of substances.”