19-year-old woman dies after falling ill at Terminal V Halloween festival
Concerns had previously been raised over drug-taking at the "high risk event"
An 19-year-old woman had died after falling ill at Terminal V festival in Edinburgh this weekend.
Maya Nager collapsed at the Halloween-themed event on October 29 and was taken to hospital before being pronounced dead by medics on Monday morning.
Police Scotland are investigating the circumstances of the Nager’s death.
A spokeswoman told the BBC: "We were made aware of a 19-year-old woman taking unwell at an event in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, around 18:00 on Saturday, 29 October. She was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment but sadly died on Monday, 31 October."
Terminal V is Scotland's "largest" electronic music festival with 20,000 ticket-holders and takes place twice a year at the Royal Highland Centre for Easter and Halloween events.
A spokeswoman for Terminal V’s organisers also told the BBC: "We are absolutely devastated at this news and our deepest sympathies are with the family. We continue to assist the police with their inquiries".
On October 3, Edinburgh City Council led a meeting over police concerns around drug-taking at the event.
PC Greig Stephen voiced his concerns to Edinburgh Live: "At each of the previous Terminal V events there have been significant quantities of control drugs seized from patrons attending the event with serious medical incidents as a direct result of drugs misuse."
He also noted that the first Terminal V in April 2017 saw 11 medical cases and two hospitalisations as a result of drug intoxication as well as in October 2018, the Terminal V Halloween event saw 53 medical cases and a two hospitalisations.
The council's senior public safety officer, Claire Miller named Terminal V the "highest risk event" her department deals with. Organisers insisted prior to this year’s Halloween edition that they had "robust" drug detection provisions in place.
A fundraiser has been set up in Maya's memory, with profits going towards Homeless Project Scotland which she had volunteered at throughout the pandemic by delivering food parcels.
Donations will also go towards animal charity SSPCA and Glaswegian community-led refugee charity Refuweegee.
Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Video and Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter