Trance music fan dies from suspected overdose at MarLo Altitude event

The death of a partygoer from a suspected drug overdose at the popular MarLo Altitude show is being probed as the future of the music event hangs in the balance.

A trance music fan has died from a suspected drug overdose after attending a popular rave event.

A trance music fan has died from a suspected drug overdose after attending a popular rave event.
The operators of John Cain Arena, Melbourne & Olympic Parks, say police are probing the death of the partygoer, who attended the MarLo Altitude show on September 16.

The Herald Sun can reveal the popular music event hangs in the balance, with the venue reviewing hosting future rave gatherings.

It comes as security staff who worked at the event and other industry insiders have said they were “severely understaffed” on the night, with partygoers seen openly ingesting drugs such as cocaine and MDMA.

One security worker, who is employed by Melbourne & Olympic Parks, said staff had been left “traumatised” after working at the rave.

“We were severely understaffed, this isn’t the first time we have experienced these types of shortages at major events,” the worker said.

“You would think there would be better safety protocols in place after the violence at the soccer late last year, but that has not happened.”

One security manager said public events were dogged by staff shortages and underqualified personnel.

That manager said she had come across instances of workers who were clocking on under the licences of family members.

At one recent major public event, 40 expected security staff simply did not turn up.

Some of those who did arrive during the event argued with patrons and behaved in a generally untrained and unprofessional manner.

A letter to staff by Melbourne & Olympic Parks people and culture director Megan O’Reilly, obtained by the Herald Sun, said the event created “challenging working conditions” including a number of “serious medical incidents” and difficult guest behaviour throughout the night. “This is not the only challenging event we have delivered in the past year and not that we are a number of days following a challenging weekend,” the letter said.

“While we always seek to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for guests, our first priority is to ensure that our team feel safe at work and have the support they need to perform their roles.

“I acknowledge that the incidents which occurred at Saturday night’s event have adversely impacted some team members.”

The letter added “M&OP has already commenced a comprehensive review of this event, which will include meaningful consideration for whether we continue to host this genre of event in the future.”

A Melbourne & Olympic Parks spokeswoman said the organisation was “deeply saddened” by the death of a guest who attended MarLo Altitude event.

“The matter is with Victoria Police for further investigation,” the spokeswoman said.

“M&OP worked closely with key stakeholders, including the event promoter, Victoria Police, MSS Security, St John Ambulance and Ambulance Victoria to put in place extensive risk mitigation measures for this event.

“These include additional screening requirements on entry, event-specific prohibited items and an enhanced presence of security and medical services personnel.

“Harm minimisation provider, ‘Dancewize’ were also engaged to provide a service to patrons that may have been affected by illicit drugs at the event.”

Originally published as Trance music fan dies from suspected overdose at MarLo Altitude event