Music festival deaths inquest: Terrifying final moments of revellers revealed

The terrifying final moments of six young revellers as MDMA sent their body temperatures soaring to lethal levels at dance festivals were revealed on Monday.

The terrifying final moments of six young revellers as MDMA sent their body temperatures soaring to lethal levels at dance festivals were revealed on Monday.

Some had muscle and jaw spasms and one had to be tackled to the ground while paramedics forced tubes down their throats and tried to lower their boiling body temperatures.

Alex Ross-King, 19, died at Westmead Hospital after a four-hour battle to resuscitate her and despite attempts to place her on a heart and lung bypass machine, the inquest into the six deaths heard.

Despite high doses of adrenaline, the young woman, described by her grieving family as mature and responsible, suffered “a number of cardiac arrests” before mechanical CPR was finally stopped. Her body temperature was recorded at a lethal 42C.

Hoang Tran, known as Nathan, died at the Knockout Circuz at the Sydney Showground on December 16, 2017 after sharing a bottle of water mixed with MDMA and buying four capsules of the drug.

Joshua Tam and Alex Ross-King.

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The normally mild-mannered computer fan became agitated and had to be handcuffed to get him into the makeshift medical centre, where his temperature soared to 41C. He died within 90 minutes of arriving at hospital.

Diana Nguyen, 21, had consumed three vodka cranberry drinks and taken two pills with friends at the Defqon. 1 festival at Sydney International Regatta Centre on September 15 last year when she stumbled on the dance floor.

The inquest heard that a friend helped her to a seat in the VIP area, where she was hot to the touch, incoherent and sweating.

A security guard insisted, over her protests, that she go to the medical tent. She collapsed on the way there and by the time she got to the tent she was unconscious.

Diana Nguyen and Joseph Pham.

Spasm of her jaw muscles prevented paramedics from opening her mouth and they inserted a nasopharyngeal airway device through her nostril. Ice packs, adrenaline and oxygen were administered but she went into cardiac arrest with a temperature of 39.5C while on the way to Nepean Hospital.

Joseph Pham and five of his mates were “pumped and ready to have a good time” when they arrived at the same Defqon. 1 festival. He told his friends later that he had taken three or four pills and at 7.30pm he was in the medical tent “extremely unwell” and his temperature soared to 39.5C.

He went into cardiac arrest and died at Nepean Hospital.

Like the parents of the other young people, Callum Brosnan’s mum and dad did not know he had used drugs.

Callum Brosnan and Hoang Nathan Tran.

‘They died in the prime of their lives’ … NSW Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame. Picture: Tracey Nearmy

At the Knockout Games of Destiny festival at Sydney Showgrounds on December 8 last year, he is estimated to have taken between six and nine pills and consumed a lot of water.

He became unconscious on the platform at Sydney Olympic Park railway station as he and his mates went home.

His eyes rolled back, he vomited and was taken to Concord Hospital with a temperature of 41.9C. He went into multi-system organ failure.

With health figures showing that up to 90 per cent of revellers at dance festivals will take drugs, Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame is looking for answers on how to stop the death toll.

As the inquest considers the vexed question of pill testing to see what chemicals are in the drugs, the inquest heard that all six young people died from lethal quantities of MDMA.

Magistrate Grahame told the families of the dead that they could have been her children. “I’m so sorry for your loss, these could be anyone’s children easily, my children,” she said.

EXTREME CAFFEINE POWDER WARNING

The family of a young man who died after mistakenly adding a toxic amount of pure caffeine to a protein shake have warned just one teaspoon of the powder can be “lethal”.

Lachlan Foote, 21, mixed the shake himself when he returned to his Blue Mountains home after celebrating New Year’s Eve in 2017.

Just hours later, he blacked out in the bathroom.

The NSW Coroner’s Court has ruled the direct cause of Lachlan’s death to be “caffeine toxicity” — shocking his father Nigel Foote.

“It was totally unexpected, a bolt from the blue,” Mr Foote said. “We had never heard of pure caffeine powder. As far as we knew, Lachlan had never had it before.

“We have no idea if he was adding it regularly to his drinks. He only occasionally drank protein shakes.”

Lachlan Foote, pictured in 2015, was 21 when he died from caffeine toxicity. Picture: Zoe Jade

The initial autopsy showed Lachlan had died with caffeine in his system, prompting an investigation by his father and police.

Mr Foote believes Lachlan was given the powder by a friend, after a thorough search of his computer and bank statements failed to show him purchasing any products.

He believes his son had no opportunity to read any consumption guidelines or labels.

“The fact that it (the powder) was sitting in our kitchen pantry, looking like flour or sugar, proves he had no idea of its potency,” Mr Foote said.

Pure caffeine powder has emerged as a popular addition to protein shakes but US health authorities warn one teaspoon is equivalent to drinking 28 cups of coffee. In the US the general supply of caffeine powder is banned.

In Australia, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has not registered pure caffeine powder supplements.