One man dead, multiple hospitalised in suspected mass overdose at Dreamstate festival in Sydney

One man has died and several others have been rushed to hospital after a suspected mass overdose at a music festival in Sydney Olympic Park.

A 40-year-old man died and six others required hospitalisation after suffering “medical episodes” on Saturday night while attending the Dreamstate Music Festival in Sydney Olympic Park.

Police confirmed the man, who has not been formally identified, died at the scene.

“Six other people were taken to hospital where one remains in a critical condition,” they said.

“A crime scene has been established, and police commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

NSW Health confirmed there were “two urgent medical transfers and three non-urgent transfers to hospital”.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, NSW Health Minister John Graham said pill testing at festivals were a “very important” element to keeping people safe at festivals.

They are investigating whether the man’s death was part of a possible mass overdose at the festival.

“I think it’s a good thing where these festivals of health are able to work together to engage in the pill testing,” he said.

“We’ve seen health over this festival period has been able to issue urgent information from people based on some of that testing, to let people know whether a particularly dangerous substance is or high potency drugs.”

“NSW Health extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person who died at Dreamstate music festival,” a NSW Health spokesman told NewsWire.

Dreamstate was not one of the festivals named as part of the state’s pill testing trial, but the spokesman said “harm reduction initiatives” were undertaken at the event.

“The festival organisers worked closely with NSW Health to provide proactive harm reduction messaging pre, during and post-event,” they said.

“NSW Health operates a comprehensive drug surveillance and early warning system to identify, investigate and respond to incidents of severe drug toxicity in partnership with the NSW Police and organisations like the NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA).”

Ahead of the incident, NSW Health had issued a warning of MDMA tablets circulating across NSW, which are found to contain a higher dose than expected.

“We are concerned about the prolonged detection of these high-dose MDMA tablets and are urging the community to be aware and vigilant, particularly for those people attending major festivals over the next few weeks,” NSW Poisons Information Centre director Darren Roberts said.

“MDMA can cause severe agitation, raised body temperature, seizures or fits, irregular heart rhythm and death.

“The risk of serious harm is increased when MDMA is taken with other stimulants including synthetic cathinones, amphetamines and if high amounts (including multiple doses) are consumed over a short period.” Dr Roberts said the amount of MDMA in each capsule can vary, even if they’re from the same batch.

“Hot environments, such as at music festivals, also increase the risk of harm from MDMA. Taking a break from dancing, seeking shade and drinking water are important measures to reduce the risk of overheating,” he said.

“It’s also very important to remember if you or a friend has taken drugs and feel unwell, you won’t get into trouble for seeking medical care. If you or a friend feel unwell, please seek help immediately by calling triple-0.”