Armin van Buuren's A State of Trance concert tour ended in tragedy this past weekend. A 19-year-old Sydney man, Tolga Toksoz, collapsed during the festival Saturday, Feb. 7, at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush before being rushed to the hospital, where he later died. The cause of death is not immediately known, but it is being reported he died of a suspected drug overdose.
Toksoz father described his son as a "good kid," according to 9news Australia.
In addition to the one man who died, another individual, a 20-year-old man from Arncliffe, is in critical but stable condition at Westmead Hospital. Four others were also taken to the hospital after injecting what were apparently pills. A 22-year-old told medical staff he had taken a large amount of pills.
Three people were arrested on drug-related offenses and issued close to 40 charges for various other offenses.
More than 16,000 people had attended the festival, which was hosted and headlined by trance heavyweight Armin van Buuren.
"Despite efforts by police and the event organisers to ensure people could attend this music event and enjoy themselves without their lives being put in danger, one man has died and another remains in Westmead Hospital in a critical condition," Assistant Commissioner Frank Mennilli said in a statement via Sky News Australia.
The issue of drug-related deaths at electronic music events continues to plague Sydney. Just this past November, 19-year-old Georginia Bartter died after collapsing at Harbourlife, while another 23-year-old man, James Munro, died after consuming drugs at Defqon 1 in September 2013.
Australia is notoriously strict with its drug policy at entry and its use of drug-sniffing dogs. This has triggered a debate on whether or not the policy are working, but if not how it could be changed so safety can be ensured for all attendees. A recent study done by the New South Wales Drug and Alcohol Research Center showed there could be some benefits to eliminating the drug-sniffing dogs as attendees will not panic and take everything at once or might be inclined to not use party drugs vs. something like cannabis, which is easier for a dog to sniff out.
Asisstant Commissioner Mennilli is still taking a hard-line stance.
"New South Wales Police will continue to use drug dogs and search people at events if we believe they are carrying illegal drugs. If you carry and supply illegal drugs, you will be arrested. If I had more police there, I would have arrested more people."
No matter which side of the arguement you fall on, the current status quo is not working and people are dieing.
The A State of Trance festival featured a weekend of music headlined by Armin van Buuren and some of the finest acts in the genre, including local hero Marlo, Armin's mysterious duo Gaia, Aly & Fila, Omnia and many others.
