A French tourist has been airlifted from a music festival near Mackay after suffering burns to 40% of her body.
It’s believed the 21-year-old woman was under the influence of hallucinogens when she wandered away from the Mushroom Valley Festival, cut herself on barbed wire, and jumped into a campfire three times.
The shocking incident took place at a nearby campsite, and campers were able to return her to the festival, where she was given medical assistance by on-site paramedics, and taken by RACQ helicopter to Mackay to be hospitalised.
Festival organisers have emphasised the “importance of self-care, looking after your mates, the risks involved in drug use and the importance of road safety” in a statement released following the incident.
The statement reads in full:
The organisers of Mushroom Valley and the entire festival community wish to express their sympathies for the young lady injured on Saturday night after leaving the festival. The safety of festival patrons is always our highest priority and all efforts are made to create a safe gathering space, and so it is a disappointment for us to have an incident like this occur.
The coordinated response to this incident from the festival’s paramedics, local ambulance and the RACQ rescue helicopter was highly professional with a helicopter arriving within an hour of the organisers becoming aware of the young lady’s injuries and we would like to thank everyone involved in the response.
On Sunday night, the closing ceremony was dedicated to the young lady, with festival organisers taking the time to inform attendees of what had occurred, and remind them of the importance of self-care, looking after your mates, the risks involved in drug use, and the importance of road safety.
The festival was otherwise a total success with approximately 1500 people enjoying 3 days of music, art and nature in a happy and safe environment and no other major incidents.
Although festival organisers have said they have a strict no-drug policy, some punters have told reporters that they were not checked for drugs on entry – only that they weren’t bringing in booze in glass containers.
Police are investigating the incident.
