US Mayor Calls For EDM Festival To Be Axed Following Deaths & Hospitalisations

Tampa Bay Mayor Bob Buckhorn has declared last weekend's Sunset Music Festival should be the last held in the city after two people died from suspected drug overdoses, while 57 more were hospitalised.

As Fox 13 News reports, Buckhorn said while the decision is not entirely his own, he would not allow the EDM festival to return next year.

"You can't necessarily assign blame, but clearly it is not an environment conducive to positive things happening," Buckhorn said. 

Held at Raymond James Stadium, Buckhorn has urged the Sports Authority (who run the venue) to ban the event. 

"The Sports Authority, they need to look at whether that is an appropriate type of event for this community to host," he continued. 

"If it were my choice I would say no."

30,000 people attended the festival and on top of the deaths and hospitalisations, over 30 more punters were arrested. 

An ER nurse at local hospital St Joe's, where 40 of the patients were sent, said they saw "back-to-back dehydrated children, all on Molly (ecstasy)".

"[Ambulances] were running the wheels off the trucks getting people to St Joe's with a combination of overdoses and heat exhaustion," Buckhorn added.

It has been reported that the festival now has to pay $US23,000 in reimbursements for ambulances used at the two-day event.

Autopsies are yet be completed on the two deceased festival-goers.