17-year-old dies after taking ill at Margate drum & bass event
The teenager was attending the all-day event Worried About Henry at the Dreamland amusement park
A teenager has died after taking ill at a drum & bass event at the Dreamland amusement park in Margate.
According to Kent Online, 17-year-old Emily Stokes was attending the all-day event Worried About Henry when police were called just before 6pm BST on Saturday (29th June).
A spokesperson for the South East Coast Ambulance Service said Stokes had been taken to hospital "by the medical team of the venue she attended". She died at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate later that evening.
A GoFundMe fundraiser has since been launched by Emily Stokes's older sister Megan Stokes, who alleges that her sister died from an overdose after being spiked. Kent police are reportedly investigating the circumstances surrounding her death. As Kent Online reports, police say they have received no reports of spiking as yet.
"Emily was the kindest person you could ever meet. She was so full of life and to have her taken away so suddenly at just only 17 years old it has completely broke me and it breaks my heart that we may not be able to give her the send off she would’ve wanted," the GoFundMe reads.
District councillor Marc Rattigan has asked Thanet District Council (TDC) to consider suspending events at Dreamland and for tighter security measures to be put in place. According to Rattigan, other attendees were also allegedly hospitalised at the event, and there were no on-site security checks.
In a statement, TDC assured residents that they were "taking the matter very seriously."
"We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of a 17-year-old woman in hospital on Saturday," read a statement from Dreamland. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman’s family and friends and we will continue to work closely with Kent Police where relevant as they investigate this tragedy further."
