Police have launched a major investigation after a series of fatal drug overdoses in central Queensland in the past three months.
Three people have died in Rockhampton from suspected overdoses - the latest on Friday when a 38-year-old man died after taking drugs.
Five other people were taken to hospital in Yeppoon and Mackay on Sunday morning.
A 37-year-old Gladstone woman died on August 5 and a 21-year-old man died in Rockhampton on June 9.
Regional Crime Coordinator, Detective Inspector Jon Wacker says police are waiting for toxicology tests from Queensland Health to identify what substances were taken.
Detective Inspector Wacker says the region's never had a string of overdoses before.