Inside the deadly Knockout Festival in Sydney

Distressing video has surfaced showing paramedics desperately attempting to revive a young attendee at the fatal Knockout Festival in Sydney – as photos show what the event was really like.

Two men died, while six other revellers ended up in hospital after attending the event at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday night.

A festival goer sitting in the grandstand shared footage from the festival emergency responders and medical personnel providing first aid to an unwell reveller being shielded by a sheet.

Hundreds of revellers surround them, most of them oblivious to the medical emergency unfolding just metres away, as loud music continued to blast across the stadium.

Aussies who attended the festival claimed the man being treated later died. 

‘Mate of mine was right next to him. That was the guy who died,’ one wrote.

Other shocked revellers recalled seeing paramedics treating other festival goers after the mercury soared past 35C earlier in the afternoon.

‘The amount of people I seen getting carried out on stretchers and being put in ambulances is ridiculous,’ one wrote.

Another added: ‘That was our first rave last night and couldn’t believe how many times towards the end of show people were being dragged out on ambo carts.’

A third wrote: ‘My friends and I had to help a dude rolling in dirt until medic arrived because security refused to touch him or treat him like a human. Stay safe.’

Knockout Outdoor festival drew in 53,000 people, with 27 charged with drug possession and four with supplying illicit substances.

Jason Lee, 26, died after attending the festival. Mr Lee called his friend Julia An and asked her to come find him about 11.44pm. Moments later, he collapsed, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and died. 

Another festival attendee, 21, later collapsed at a hotel on George St, at Chippendale. He was rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital and died. 

He was rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital where he also died.

NSW Police are investigating whether Mr Lee or the unnamed 21-year-old had taken drugs before their deaths.

‘It’s not specifically being treated as a suspected drug overdose,’ Det Supt Simon Glasser told reporters on Sunday.

‘We look at all avenues. Anything could have happened.’

Despite this, Superintendent Glasser issued a warning about the dangers of taking illicit substances at the festivals.

‘This shows that people can die at music festivals,’ he said.

‘Drugs can have some horrible consequences. When you mix that with the heat of yesterday, it’s an added risk factor that can cause adverse affects.’

Revellers have echoed renewed calls by advocates for the NSW government to introduce pill testing at music festivals similar to the ACT.

Some reported seeing festival goers taking multiple drugs at once due to the presence of drug dogs at the festival.

Other revellers came forward to report a bad batch of drugs circulating around Sydney.

‘[I] had noticed that quality has been more rubbish than usual but also suppliers jackin out s** drugs to make a profit, and then s*** like this happens cuz our government refuses to allow pill testing,’ one person wrote.

The two festival goers lost their lives on the first weekend of the festival season in Sydney which was kicked off by Knockout.

Across town that same night, another 27,000 attended Listen Out festival in Centennial Park, where a number of revellers were also treated by paramedics. 

The NSW government has been urged to introduce pill testing in the hope of avoiding more deaths this festival season.

Jennifer Ross-King broke down in tears while expressing her condolences to the men’s families.

She lost her own daughter Alex, 19, who tragically died from a drug overdose while attending the FOMO festival in western Sydney almost five years ago in January 2019. 

A coronial inquest later found she died from MDMA toxicity after the teen ingested two capsules before entering the Parramatta venue so she wouldn’t be caught by police.

‘I’m so sorry to the families of the two young people who have passed,’ an emotional Ms Ross-King told reporters on Monday.

‘I am so sorry that you are now in the same position as I am and so many other families unnecessarily.’

She issued a powerful plea to NSW Premier Chris Minns. 

‘I’m begging you to make change now, so no one else loses their child,’  Ms Ross-King begged.

Greens MP Faerhmann added: ‘It’s incredibly frustrating that governments don’t seem to act unless there’s a crisis but then all they’ve done after the crisis is commission reports and then not act on the recommendations,’

‘It’s going to be a very hot summer and it’s going to be a very dangerous summer unless Chris Minns acts.’

But health minister Ryan Park said pill testing would not be a silver bullet to stop deaths or serious harm from the use of illicit drugs.

‘We all have a role to play in this space but no one particular initiative is going to give complete coverage and ensure everyone goes home safely,’ he said.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk

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