Five young people have died and five more are in a critical condition after reportedly overdosing on drugs at an electronic dance music festival in Argentina.
According to police, most of the victims who lost their lives at the Time Warp festival were aged between 20 and 25, with autopsies now being done to determine whether illicit substances were involved.
“The youths lost consciousness and rapidly went into a coma,” Alberto Crescenti, head of the Emergency Health Care System, told the ABC, adding that those who remained alive in hospital had body temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius, indicating severe poisoning.
The initial death toll was four, but one victim who was originally hospitalised died shortly after.
An estimated 11,000 people attended the third annual Time Warp festival in Buenos Aires, which this year included DJs such as Sven Vath, Jamie Jones, Ricardo Villalobos, Luciano, Maceo Plex and Tale Of Us.
The second night of the festival has now been cancelled following the tragedy, with police shutting down the venue.
The event has issued the following statement via Facebook:
“We express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the people who passed away. The cause of this tragedy will take some time to determine. The show is cancelled for tonight.
We will let you know as soon as possible how you can refund the ticket for tonight. We ask that you keep the loved ones of these people in our thoughts and prayers.”
EDM festivals are currently under the microscope here in Australia as well, following recent fatal drug overdoses at the now-on-hiatus Stereosonic festival and Defqon.1.
