A man has died after a medical incident at Download Festival on Saturday, police have confirmed.
In a statement, Leicestershire Police said the man became unwell at the event in Donington and was taken to the Derby Royal Infirmary where he died.
The man, who is yet to be named was taken ill shortly before 9pm on Saturday following the Deftones performance and just before rock band Iron Maiden took to the stage at the annual festival.
Emergency services attended to him while the headline show got underway before he was taken from the arena. Eyewitnesses at the scene gave an account of the incident, which occurred while thousands of fans began singing and jumping along to the main act.
“It happened just before Iron Maiden came on and noticed people were shouting and then paramedics were going back and forth to help whoever it was,” one eyewitness told LeicestershireLive.
“It was during the first song that they were taken away. I don’t think many people realised what was happening at first.”
In a statement, Leicestershire Police said: “We can confirm the death of a man who had been attending the Download Festival in Castle Donington at the weekend.”
They added: “The man became unwell at the festival on Saturday evening (11 June) and was taken to the Derby Royal Infirmary where he sadly died.
“The death is currently being treated as unexplained and enquiries remain ongoing.”
The man’s death came hours after East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) and the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance were dispatched to the festival to reports of a medical emergency involving another festival-goer. Reports suggest this medical incident was on the festival campsites.
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