Philly Medical Examiner Says Overdoses May Have Killed 35 In 5 Days: Report

Philadelphia officials are saying the recent surge in heroin overdose deaths killed 35 people over a five-day period, according to Philly.com.

City Medical Examiner Sam P. Gulino told the outlet the string of deaths is unprecedented.

Gulino said the city will likely close out 2016 with roughly 30 percent more deaths tied to opiates such as heroin and fentanyl than 2015, according to the outlet

Philly.com reports the first deaths in the recent surge occurred Dec. 1 where 12 people died and continued through the weekend, killing four on Dec. 2, seven on Dec. 3, nine on Dec. 4, and three on Dec. 5.

City officials and police suspect a bad batch of heroin is the blame for the string of deaths in Kensington specifically.

However, Philly.com reports police suspect the batch could have been more powerful than users previously thought it was.

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