Teenager ‘lucky to be alive’ after alleged spiking incident at Emerge Festival

Speaking to Belfast Live, the girl’s grandmother claimed that her parents had been refused entry to the venue to collect her

The family of a 17-year-old girl who suffers from a severe congenital heart defect have said she is lucky to be alive after her drink was allegedly spiked while she was attending the Emerge Festival.

Speaking to Belfast Live, the girl’s grandmother said that once she was inside the venue in South Belfast on Sunday, she got separated from her friend group and someone offered to hold her drink while she got a photo taken.

After that, as she continued to drink her drink, she became unwell and sought out medical help.

“If this were any other child, I would be asking if they were really spiked, but my granddaughter was born with a transposition of the great arteries and knows that she couldn’t even risk taking drugs. She can’t have piercings, can’t have tattoos, and even if she goes to the dentist, she has to have an antibiotic due to the seriousness of her heart problems,” she said.

“From what she has told us, when she went in, she got separated from her friends and got talking to other young kids. They were getting photos taken, and someone offered to hold her drink. It was the first drink she’d had, and when she got it back and continued to drink it, she started feeling unwell.

“She had the sense to approach someone to ask for help, and they took her to the medical hut, and then someone phoned my daughter and said, ‘Look, your wee girl is here and she is off her head.'”

She explained that after the call, the teenager’s parents rushed to the venue, where they were initially prevented from entering to collect their vulnerable daughter.

“Once my daughter and son-in-law got there, they were panicing and parked the car on the road at the gate. Security refused them entry for not having a ticket, and even when they explained about the call they had received, my son-in-law had to force his way in with my daughter behind him.

“Why could the security not have radioed through to confirm that she was with the medics and escort them to her?” she asked.

The girl’s parents brought her to the Mater Hospital by car, where she underwent tests which indicated the presence of something in her system, although her grandmother said they were unable to confirm what it was.

“We are just so lucky that she wasn’t another one to lose her life,” she finished.

Shine Promotions, organisers of the Emerge Music Festival have been approached for comment but nothing has been received at the time of publication.

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