One person who attended the sold-out Pitch Music and Arts Festival has died hours after they were airlifted from the event.
In a statement shared to social media, the Pitch Music and Arts Festival revealed that one person has passed away after they were airlifted from the event on Sunday morning.
“We are deeply saddened to learn this evening that one of our People of Pitch has passed away after being airlifted to The Alfred hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning,” the statement began.
“Our thoughts are with their family, friends and anyone in our wider community affected by this.
“We are devastated that this has occurred at an event where community has been a driving force over the last seven years.
“We understand that the timing of this news will be upsetting for festival-goers who are currently safely exiting the event, as well as friends & family at home.”
Pitch Festival concluded the tragic statement by reassuring the public that they’re working to get everyone home safely after it announced that this year’s remainder of the festival was cancelled.
“Reconfirming we have our Crowd Care team on-site to support patrons and staff, and our priority right now remains to get everyone home safely,” the statement reads.
It is not confirmed how the festivalgoer died, however, a spokesperson from Victoria Police said a report will be prepared for the corner following their death, the Herald Sun reports.
The tragic announcement comes hours after the festival confirmed that the remainder of 2024’s event was cancelled, citing extreme weather conditions and fire danger.
“Through consultation with authorities, we have been directed to cancel the remainder of Pitch Music & Arts 2024 in light of an updated extreme fire danger warning issued this afternoon for tomorrow (Monday, March 11),” the announcement began.
“We have consistently followed the guidance of relevant authorities throughout the entire process.
“Nobody is in immediate danger. We encourage everyone on site not to rush, calmly pack-up and depart either this evening or early tomorrow.
“For those who have travelled in their own vehicle, please ensure you have a sober and rested driver.
“For those who came by other means of transport, additional buses to Ararat are being organised today, and commence again from 6am tomorrow.”
Prior to Pitch’s official cancellation on Sunday, the sold-out festival made two separate social media posts — Friday and Saturday — warning punters about the extreme weather forecasts in Victoria.
In 2019, Falls Festival faced a similar situation, with the call being made to cancel the event due to extreme weather conditions.
Image source: 9News
