Overdoses suspected in two deaths at Florida EDM fest, 57 others hospitalized

Two people died and 57 were hospitalized this weekend after attending Sunset Music Festival, an EDM festival in Tampa, Florida.

Alex Haynes, a 22-year-old from Melbourne, died Sunday; and Katie Bermudez, a 21-year-old from Kissimmee, died Monday, city officials have confirmed. 

A Hillsborough County Medical Examiner said they are suspecting that both died of a drug overdose, but it was unclear what kind of drug before toxicology reports are completed. 

Speaking to the Orlando Sentinel, Bermudez's mom, Nancy Bermudez, said, "She was a good, wholesome kid. But bad things can happen to good kids ... This is not what Katie was about. I just want from this justice for my daughter and others if there were bad intentions."

In a news release, Tampa police also reported 25 felony arrests and eight misdemeanor arrests, in addition to 16 marijuana citations. According to WFLA, over 50,000 people were expected to attend. 

In a statement to Mashable, organizers said "any loss of life is a tragedy" and added the festival plans to work with Tampa's mayor and local authorities to avoid future incidents.

Any loss of life is a tragedy and we extend our deepest heartfelt condolences. The health, safety and welfare of our fans and community are Sunset Music Festival’s top priority and we take extensive measures to create a safe environment. Each year, as we have done for the past five years, we sit down with the Tampa Sports Authority, Tampa Fire Department, and the Tampa Police Department to layout a comprehensive safety program that is based on their recommendations so that all police, fire, and emergency medical technician staffing meets the City’s threshold. As a supplement to that, Sunset Music Festival has added private security, a private drug canine team, and other first-responder and safety staff. As always, the festival provides free water and communicates regularly with patrons about safety. Sunset Music Festival does not condone, provide, encourage or otherwise, the use of illegal or illicit drugs

But the festival's Twitter account has yet to address the incident, even tweeting "We need to do this again sometime" after the DJ 3LAU shared a photo from Audien's set at the festival. 

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Overdoses of Molly have become problems for EDM festivals across the country in recent years. 

Two festivalgoers -- Jeffrey Russ, 23, of Rochester, and Olivia Rotondo, 20, of Providence, Rhode Island -- died at 2013's Electric Zoo in New York. And in 2014, Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado called for the end of Ultra Music Festival after a 21-year-old man, Adonis Pena Escoto, died at the festival, but city officials ultimately allowed it to return the following year with stronger police presence. 

UPDATED 9:45 p.m. PT with new statement from Sunset Music Festival.

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