Nine in hospital after suspected drug overdoses at Festival Hall dance party
Updated
A 20-year-old man is in a critical condition and eight other people have been taken to hospital after a mass drug overdose at a Melbourne dance party.
Emergency services were called to Festival Hall at 11:00pm on Friday, and eight partygoers were treated by paramedics in a first aid area at the venue as a ninth person collapsed nearby.
All nine were taken to various hospitals, where they were all reported to be in a serious condition.
They had been attending the I Am Hardstyle event, an electronic dance festival that travels to cities across Europe and South America.
St Vincent's Hospital confirmed a man, 20, was still in a critical condition in the hospital's intensive care unit this morning.
A woman, also aged 20, was under observation at the hospital.
Another patient had been discharged after treatment.
Other patients were being treated at the Royal Melbourne, Alfred and Western hospitals.
Ambulance Victoria's state health commander, Paul Holman, said most of the patients were unconscious when they were treated at the scene.
"Clearly these drugs are circulating now around the system," he said.
"Clearly they're dangerous
"We've still got a big weekend of celebrations going on at a number of dance parties.
"Don't take these drugs, they will kill you.
"These are poisons. They [the users] don't know where they come from, they don't know what they do, and as we saw last night we had nine young people taken to hospital in a serious condition, poisoned by these drugs."
Victorian Greens MP Colleen Hartland, who has been campaigning for pill testing to be made available at festivals and dance parties, said the overdoses once again highlighted the need for such a service.
"People are going to continue to die or be seriously injured," Ms Hartland said.
"This also puts a massive strain on hospitals and ambulances.
"What happens in Europe is people can anonymously give over their drugs, they are tested, and then an authority such as the health department or a police department actually issues timely warnings to people so they know that that particular drug is really dangerous."
Police are investigating last night's incident.
First posted
