In a spirit of togetherness and times of celebration, we stop and stutter once again as tragedy strikes our beloved Dance Music culture, with the death of a patron attending the iconic A State of Trance celebrations this weekend. 19 year old Tolga Toksoz, collapsed during the event at Olympic Park in West Sydney and was assisted by medical staff away from the site, but passed away later in the hospital. Another 5 patrons were taken to the hospital under suspected drug overdose related symptoms. The event notoriously also saw authorities make three arrests for drug supply and issue about 40 charges for various offenses.
Australia’s Festival culture has suffered a major setback since 2013, after news of 19-year-old Georgina Bartter‘s death after collapsing at Harbourlife last November, and 23-year-old James Munro‘s death who went into cardiac arrest and passed away after consuming drugs at Defqon 1 in September 2013, broke out. The event this weekend, which was headlined by Dutch legend Armin Van Buuren among other star acts, saw 16,000 in attendance and has once again sparked the debate over how law enforcement should pursue recreational drug users. Our thoughts and prayers go out with the family of the deceased.
Source: Billboard
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