Field Day Sydney: Woman fights for life after suspected drug overdose

A YOUNG woman’s condition has improved after a suspected overdose at Sydney’s Field Day dance festival left her fighting for her life.

Field Day: A 23-year-old woman is in hospital after a suspected overdose (file picture from 2015)

A 23-year-old woman’s condition has improved after a suspected overdose of the drug MDMA at Sydney’s Field Day dance festival.

The woman was rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital in a critical condition at about 10pm but a hospital spokeswoman said today her condition had stabilised.

The spokeswoman said a number of overdose victims were rushed to the emergency department from the notorious Field Day festival. More than 200 people were treated by paramedics.

Police charged 184 festival-goers with drug offences at the annual dance festival, 30 less than last year.

Eight of those were charged with drug supply, including two people allegedly found with a large amount of MDMA.

A 26-year-old was allegedly found in possession of 100 ecstasy tablets and a 19-year-old man allegedly found with 81 ecstasy tablets.

Both were granted conditional bail and will appear at Downing Centre Local Court on January 28.

All drugs were seized by police to forensic examinations.

Chief inspector Stuart Bell described the number of drug-related arrests yesterday as “a concern”.

“[The] 184 drug-related arrests shows that there are still some who think they can get away with possessing and supplying drugs,” Mr Bell said.

“We make no apologies for finding people who supply and possess drugs and putting them before the courts,” he said.

Held annually on January 1 in The Domain, the festival attracts thousands of partiers who have not slept since before New Year’s Eve.

Last year, more than 200 party-goers were arrested on drug offences at Field Day, including two women aged 20 and 21 with 125 ecstasy tablets in their possession.

Only two months earlier teenager Georgina Bartter tragically died after an allergic reaction to a drug taken at Harbourlife in the Royal Botanical Gardens.

In September a 26-year-old man died from a drug overdose at the Defqon dance festival. Nigel Pauljevic, from Albury, was partying with friends at the festival in Penrith when he was found unconscious in a tent. His desperate mates tried to perform CPR but there was nothing they could do to save his life.

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