Sunday 9 November 2014

Teenager dies after taking pills at music festival - Sydney Morning Herald


Georgina Bartter died of a suspected drug overdose.


Sun-soaked photographs of young, happy music fans dancing at a harbourside festival filled social media pages over the weekend.


But the Harbourlife festival ended tragically for 19-year-old woman Georgina Bartter, who collapsed at the dance music party after a suspected adverse reaction to drugs on Saturday afternoon, and died in St Vincent's Hospital emergency department.


It is understood Ms Bartter, from Longueville on Sydney's north shore, had taken a combination of drugs at the festival, held at Mrs Macquaries Chair. Police said her friends told officers she had taken one-and-a-half pills.


Police would not specify the type of drugs.


In a statement reported by Channel Nine, the family said the young teen was 'a beautiful and vibrant young woman, who was much loved and will be sadly missed.


'She had allergies and it was extremely out of character.'


Ms Bartter recently finished high school at Wenona girls school and planned to attend university.


She was the daughter of Simon Bartter, whose family used to own Bartter-Steggles, one of the largest poultry firms in the country.


Superintendent Mark Walton, commander of the Sydney City Command, said officers were alerted to the unconscious woman while they raided Harbourlife, which led to the arrest of 78 people for drug offences.


Superintendent Walton said it was concerning that electronic music festivals were always linked to the use of psychoactive drugs, such as ecstasy and amphetamines.


'It does not matter what location they're held in, there's no doubt that the nature of the entertainment is intrinsically linked to that drug use,' he said.


While there was no indication of a bad drug batch in Sydney, Superintendent Walton said no one ever knew what was in any drug.


'Young women, young men, they want to know the contents of everything that they eat, they'll look at food labels, they'll look at cosmetics, they're very particular about things, yet some of them - 78 at least yesterday - turned up with the intent to consume some of those products.


'They have no idea what's contained in them. It's risky behaviour that we really should be trying to move away from.'


He would not comment on the nature of Ms Bartter's death.


'Her family are in an absolute state of shock, as are her associates and friends. It's an absolute tragedy that we lose someone in these circumstances.'


A Sydney emergency department doctor said young people were hospitalised every weekend after taking ecstasy.


'Australia-wide, ecstasy use, especially amongst the teenagers, or people in their early 20s, mixed with alcohol is very, very big,' the doctor said, requesting he not be named.


'The big danger comes when you mix pills and, in the past, there have been deaths from people just taking two tablets with different chemicals.


'A lot of these tablets, ecstasy, amphetamines, anti-depressants, release chemicals like serotonin ... into the brain. The actions of these pills are supposed to make you feel happy and elated


'But if you have two tablets that have different mechanisms, you can have a massive outpouring of serotonin leading to death.'


In a statement posted on the event's Facebook page, the festival organisers, Fuzzy Events, said their staff reacted quickly to the woman falling ill.


'Right now our thoughts are with her family - we can hardly imagine the pain and heartbreak they must be feeling, and they have our deepest sympathy.'


Police are preparing a report for the coroner.


with Jacob Saulwick and AAP Entities 0 Name: Bartter Count: 3 1 Name: Sydney Count: 3 2 Name: Georgina Bartter Count: 2 3 Name: Walton Count: 2 4 Name: Simon Bartter Count: 1 5 Name: Wenona Count: 1 6 Name: Mark Walton Count: 1 7 Name: Harbourlife Count: 1 8 Name: Macquaries Chair Count: 1 9 Name: Sydney City Command Count: 1 10 Name: Channel Nine Count: 1 11 Name: Jacob Saulwick Count: 1 12 Name: Longueville Count: 1 13 Name: St Vincent 's Hospital emergency department Count: 1 Related Keywords 0 Name: bartter Score: 60 1 Name: ecstasy Score: 35 2 Name: drug Score: 34 3 Name: sydney Score: 24 4 Name: festival Score: 23 5 Name: walton Score: 21 6 Name: superintendent Score: 20 7 Name: harbourlife Score: 20 8 Name: young Score: 19 9 Name: tablets Score: 18 authors 0 Name: Stephanie Gardiner Url: http://ift.tt/1ALazvL Media Images 0

No comments:

Post a Comment