A man has died, and five others were taken to the hospital after suffering medical episodes at Dreamstate Australia in Sydney on Saturday night.
A possible mass overdose is being investigated by police after a man died and five others were transported to the hospital during Dreamstate Australia at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday evening.
According to ABC, police reported that a number of patrons suffered from “medical episodes” at the festival around 11:30pm. An NSW Health spokesperson stated that there were two urgent medical transfers and three non-urgent transfers, along with the unfortunate death of a man who police say is in his 40s but has yet to be identified.
“A range of harm reduction initiatives are in place at festivals, including support and health promotion workers, health messaging, free chilled water, misting fans, chill-out spaces and well-equipped medical services,” the NSW Health spokesperson stated.
John Graham, the Minister for Music and the Night-Time Economy, confirmed that these harm-reduction measures were in place, but that on-site pill testing was not. On-site pill testing is currently undergoing a trial run in New South Wales, with 11 festivals taking part throughout the year. “It is a reminder that pill testing that has been going on is very important, has allowed information from health to be distributed,” Graham said. “We really want to get the word out about the dangers here.”
Insomniac, Symbiotic, and Hardware, the three promoters behind the trance and techno-centric Dreamstate Australia, have yet to release a statement regarding the death and hospitalizations.
Dreamstate Australia’s second day in Melbourne continued on Sunday. Prior to the show, organizers shared a drug alert on the festival’s official Instagram Stories (archived). This alert was about multiple products that were obtained in Victoria and tested by the Victorian Pill Testing Service, which contained MDMA that was two to three times the typical dose.
This is a developing story, and EDM Identity will provide additional updates as they become available.