A 13-year-old girl from Rigaud, west of Montreal, died in hospital Monday afternoon after taking the drug ecstasy.

Police say the girl and a friend were at a sleepover Saturday night in Hudson when they started talking about taking ecstasy. They say the two curious teens called a 16-year-old friend and went over to his place to get the drug.

Sûreté du Québec spokeswoman Chantal Mackels said the boy's parents weren't home at the time.

When the girls returned to Hudson, Mackels said in an interview Monday, the 13-year-old became very ill.

"One of them really felt like nauseous and not well and so the mother was advised. The mother saw the state of the child and she called 911," Mackels said.

An ambulance carried her to a local hospital, where she was stabilized before being transferred to Montreal Children's Hospital.

Mackels said it's not clear why only one of the girls became sick and died, given that both took equal amounts of the powerful drug.

"For children that want to experiment with drugs, it's always a bad idea, especially if it's in a powder or a pill, because you don't know what was put in there by whom and when it was done, and the concentration of whatever you're taking."

A 16-year-old boy appeared in court Monday afternoon on drug-related charges.

Mackels said he could face further charges because of the girl's death.