1 Death At EDM Festival, Medical Treatment Soars
LAS VEGAS (AP) — One man died and medical calls soared at the venue that hosted the Electric Daisy Carnival outside Las Vegas over the weekend, when a heat wave bringing triple-digit temperatures began to move through the area, officials said Monday. Authorities have not yet determined the man's cause of death.
Nearly 1,100 people sought medical help during the three days of the largest music festival in North America, which began Friday evening at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, southern Nevada officials said. One reported fatality at the venue occurred Saturday morning after the first night of the event had wrapped up.
Festival organizer Insomniac Events reported that 135,000 attendees on average partied from sundown to sunrise Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The event featured more than 230 musicians performing on elaborate stages amid a carnival-like setting of rides and pyrotechnic displays.
The coroner's office in Clark County identified the man who died Saturday as 34-year-old Michael Adam Morse. His cause and manner of death have not been determined. The coroner's office could not immediately provide his hometown.
Police said Morse's death occurred outside the festival's operating hours of 7 p.m. to about 5:30 a.m. and is not being investigated as a crime.
Most of the 1,090 people who received medical assistance were treated at the site, but 15 ticket-holders and one employee were taken to the hospital. Lastyear, 617 people were treated at the venue, and 17 were hospitalized.
Police did not provide details on the reasons why people sought treatment. Insomniac Events did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the nature of the medical assistance sought by festivalgoers.
The National Weather Service put midnight temperatures at 89 degrees Friday, 92 degrees Saturday and 97 degrees Sunday.
"It was definitely warmer this year overnight, specially last night," meteorologist Ashley Allen said Monday.
Police said 95 people were arrested for felonies during the event, most for offenses involving drugs. Organizers reported 282 people were ejected from the festival.
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