Overdose deaths in the province have nearly doubled compared to last year, according to new data released by the BC Coroners Service.
There have been 1,208 drug overdose deaths between January and October of this year, up from 683 at this time in 2016.
Most of the deaths have occurred in Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria.
The Coroners Service says fentanyl was detected in 999 of the confirmed and suspected deaths – an increase of 136 per cent from the same period last year.
The final death toll for the entire 2017 will not be released until the new year.
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