7 die, 5 in coma after taking drugs at dance fest

SEVEN Vietnamese have died and five are in a coma after taking drugs at an electronic dance music festival in Hanoi, officials said yesterday, as authorities scrambled to trace the substance.

The Sunday night disaster, believed to be the deadliest drug-related incident in the country, shocked the nation’s conservative capital. Synthetic drug use is on the rise but remains largely underground among a relatively niche group of hard-partying youth.

The victims, all Vietnamese, tested positive for an unspecified drug, prompting officials to ban all electronic dance music festivals in the capital.

“Police investigators are trying to figure out what type of drug that was,” deputy director of Hanoi police Nguyen Van Vien said yesterday.

Officials said the dead were all in their 20s, while the five people in a coma in intensive care are aged between 18 and 30.

Sunday night’s “Trip To The Moon” festival was hosted by Vietnam Electronic Weekend in Hanoi’s upscale West Lake, a neighborhood popular among expats, teachers and youth for its nightlife.

Thousands attended the event which sprawled across three stages at a water park.

One festivalgoer said she saw several people collapse in the crowd and about four people shuttled out on stretchers.

“I thought maybe they were just exhausted but when I saw more people (being carried out). I was shocked... there were so many ambulances outside. I was freaking out,” she said, declining to be named.

Investigators are trying to confirm who brought the drugs into the venue.