REVEALED: What caused a mass overdose at the Hardmission Festival rave that left eight partygoers fighting for their lives – and it wasn’t just drugs

A mass overdose at a Melbourne rave wasn’t just caused by a dodgy batch of MDMA, health officials say.

Eight revelers were left in a coma after overdosing at the Hardmission Festival at Flemington Showgrounds last weekend – and three of them were still fighting for life on Friday.

Victoria’s health department said the drugs were not the only issue causing the group to become drastically unwell – with high temperatures and “physical exertion” also contributing factors.

Video footage from the festival posted on social media showed a person holding up a cell phone with the word “Caps?” written on the screen (photo)

Seven of the eight partygoers had blood tests showing they had used MDMA, and six of them had ‘very high’ levels of the drug in their bodies.

A teenage girl and two men in their twenties are fighting for their lives from Friday. A man in his 20s remains in a serious condition.

‘Nine people recently became unwell after using MDMA at a music event. Some were also exposed to PMMA, synthetic cathinones and/or methamphetamine,” health officials said.

‘Seven people who became unwell had special blood tests done, all of which showed MDMA. Six had very high concentrations of MDMA.

‘Consuming these substances during a warm, humid music event increases the risk of life-threatening hyperthermia.

‘All patients in this cluster experienced life-threatening hyperthermia (high body temperature). Consuming MDMA causes your body temperature to rise.

‘A larger dose of MDMA alone may be sufficient to cause hyperthermia. Additional factors will make the body even warmer.’

The news came just as it emerged that another woman in her 30s was fighting for life after a suspected drug overdose at Juicy Fest, also held in Flemington.

A teenage girl was also taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition after a suspected substance abuse problem at the hip-hop festival.

There is a social media post from the Hardmission Festival, which took place in Melbourne last Saturday

Earlier this week, Victorian Ambulance Union general secretary Danny Hill recalled the horror of seven revelers having to be intubated on site at the Hardmission Festival.

Intubation is used when a person cannot breathe on their own. A tube is placed in the mouth or nose and connected to a machine that pumps oxygen into the person’s windpipe.

“These were patients who were seriously ill and required life-saving interventions so effective that they did not die,” Mr Hill told Sunrise on Monday morning.

“We had emergency physicians on site providing patient intubation, but they were overwhelmed and had to call in paramedics to assist with care that would normally be done in an energy department.”

Video footage from the festival posted on social media showed a person holding up a cell phone with the word “Caps?” written on the screen.

This is a word sometimes used by people who want to buy illegal drugs in capsules.

Mr Hill said people attending such events should inform themselves about the dangers of using illegal drugs such as ecstasy.

‘I think this highlights the dangers of some of the drugs passed around at rave parties and why there need to be mechanisms in place to try to protect against them. It raises the issue of pill testing and pill checking.”

He said drugs sold at raves are sometimes laced with other chemicals and can have very dangerous side effects.

Mr Hill said the drug people are given can ‘often be very different to what they think they have bought’.