Two punters who attended yesterday's Defqon.1 festival in Sydney have died from suspected drug overdoses, while two more remain in critical conditions in hospital.
In a statement issued by police, 700 more who attended the hardstyle event at Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith were treated on site.
Police are now investigating the deaths of a 23-year-old male and 21-year-old female who collapsed around 9pm during the festival on Saturday night and later passed away at Nepean Hospital.
A 26-year-old woman is currently at Nepean Hospital in a critical condition and a 19-year-old man, who was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition, is now in intensive care.
10 festivalgoers have been charged with drug supply offences and three are due in court today.
Two 17-year-old females have also been charged with supply of a prohibited drug after they allegedly carried 120 capsules internally into the venue.
A further two men and three women were also charged with supply drug offences.
A total of 355 drug searches were conducted with 69 people found to be in possession of drugs, including the 10 charged with supply offences.
Following yesterday's event, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has vowed to shut Defqon festival down permanently, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in Australia this year.
“We will do everything we can to shut this down. I don’t want to see this event happen again,” Berejiklian told The Daily Telegraph.
“I’m absolutely aghast at what’s occurred. I don’t want any family to go through the tragedy that some families are waking up to this morning. It’s just horrible to think about.
“This is an unsafe event and I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure it never happens again.”
Defqon organisers addressed the deaths of the two punters in a statement given to The Music this morning.
"In response to the police media statement made this morning, the organisers of Defqon.1 Australia are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of two of their patrons at Nepean Hospital after attending the festival last night and would like to convey their sincerest condolences to their families and friends," the statement reads.
"Thoughts and prayers are also with the young man and woman who are still in a critical condition.
"We are disappointed at the number of reported drug related incidents, we have a zero-tolerance policy in relation to drug use at the festival. Festival organisers are working closely and cooperating with the authorities regarding the fatalities and the number of medical presentations made during the evening, a full investigation is currently underway.
"As this is a matter with the NSW Police and the coroner and out of respect for the families and friends we are not going to speculate on the cause of death and we will not be making any further statements or comments."
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