An eight-year-old British Columbia boy is recovering after suffering an apparent heroin overdose.

The boy apparently injected himself in his mother's south Surrey apartment on Monday morning.

Emergency services workers came and found the boy blue and unresponsive. They treated him with a drug called Narcan, which reverses the effects of opiates like heroin.

They took him to Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock.

Police are doing tests on the suspected drug.

"Preliminary investigation suggests that the child suffered an opiate overdose," RCMP Sgt. Jean Hamm told CTV on Wednesday.

"As a result of that information, an investigation was entered into by the Surrey major crimes unit, who is investigating the matter to determine the circumstances of this incident."

Residents of the apartment complex told CTV that the building is a quiet one and that the news about the boy shocked them.

The boy has been released from hospital and is currently in the care of the B.C. Ministry of Childen and Family Development.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Michele Brunoro