One Dead, 87 Arrested At Defqon Dance Festival

A 23-year-old Victorian man has died and 87 individuals were arrested at the Defqon.1 hard style dance music festival, held in Western Sydney's Penrith over the weekend.

According to police the deceased travelled by car with friends to attend the festival, but was taken to the festival's medical centre shortly before Saturday 14 September. In the centre  the man's condition “quickly deteriorated” and following a number of seizures an ambulance was called to take him to nearby Nepean Hospital.

He was resuscitated after numerous prolonged cardiac arrests, but died shortly after 10.30pm.

Taking place at the Sydney International Regatta Centre – a Sydney Olympics venue – over 18,000 people attended the prominent event. 84 punters were arrested for drug offences and three more for public order offences. It is believed that 14 others were taken to hospital after apparent overdoses.

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell told media that, “This is just another demonstration that those people who call these substances recreational drugs are dead wrong. A person has died.”

He added, "This is unacceptable and just demonstrates that what some people call recreational drugs can kill.”

Penrith LAC Detective Inspector Grant Healey told a press conference, via News Limited, that authorities encountered cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD and magic mushrooms amongst other substances, and said that multiple pills were likely responsible for the man's death.

He added, “The music festivals themselves aren't the problem, the problem is adults attending those festivals making poor choices about their lifestyle and taking drugs that they don't know what's in them.”