One dead, twelve hospitalised during Transmission Music Festival

Transmission Music Festival made its way back to Sydney, Australia last Saturday, 11 February, gathering over 18,000 festival goers. Unfortunately, a fatality took place at the event due to a suspected overdose and 12 other attendees had to be hospitalised.

According to a statement by the NSW Police, a 26-year-old man arrived at Bankstown Hospital at 1:30 am on Sunday and passed away shortly after.

The police also informed that “Investigations are underway and a report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.” The other 12 taken to the hospital were also because of drug-related incidents, with seven of them needing to be intubated.

Since 2016, Transmission has entered Australia bringing along with it world-renowned international trance acts. This year, the festival was held at Sydney Showground in Olympic Park with soaring summer temperatures of up to 36°C.

As a "high-risk event" according to the NSW Music Festivals Act, police and high-security measures were deployed on the grounds.

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During the event, police were able to apprehend six men that were allegedly selling over 300 tablets of MDMA. A press statement from the NSW Police reveals that a 23-year-old man from Oran Park was caught in possession of 253 MDMA tablets and a 21-year-old man from Fairfield West was caught with 149 MDMA tablets. The remaining four's court dates were set at a future date.

Additionally, the police report stated that over 130 persons were in need of medical attention during the event due to heat and drug-related issues.

Transmission Music Festival originated in Prague in 2006 and has since made its way around the globe, stopping by Australia in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023.

In 2017, the festival debuted in Bangkok, Thailand and returned the following year before also making its way to Shanghai.

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Festivals outside of Asia have made their way towards a safer way of battling these issues, as reports state that drug testing at music festivals leads to no drug-related deaths. However, drug testing might be slightly controversial here in Asia due to the many strict laws that certain countries place on drug-related offences.

To learn more about how to stay safe and test your drugs, click here and here.

[Via: NSW Police & The Guardian]

Miki Kitasako is Mixmag Asia’s Social Media and Content Producer, follow her on LinkedIn.