Pair who died following Portsmouth music festival were among 15 admitted to hospital, organisers reveal

Two revellers who died at a music festival on Saturday were among 15 attendees rushed to hospital, organisers have revealed.

One person remained in critical condition as bosses of Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth continued to warn that a “high strength or bad batch” of drugs may have been circulated.

It came as one of the dead was named as 18-year-old Georgia Jones. Writing on Facebook, her mother Janine Milburn revealed the youngster had suffered a 45-minute seizure. “My little girl was 18 and full of life,” she wrote.

A 20-year-old man who died separately has not yet been named.

The second day of the event – which was to be headlined by Craig David and Sean Paul – has now been cancelled as a “safety precaution”.

A spokeswoman for the nearby Queen Alexandra Hospital said some of the people admitted were treated for “drug-related” symptoms but did not confirm how many of the 15 were affected in this way.

Mutiny organisers warned at about 9.30pm on Saturday that they was “aware of a dangerous high-strength or bad-batch substance on site”, and that no drugs should be taken.

A subsequent statement said they was “devastated to hear of the tragic loss of life from its festival family”. They later added: “Following the terrible news from earlier today, the team behind Mutiny Festival are incredibly sad to announce that the Sunday has been cancelled as a safety precaution.”

The organisers of the event, which was taking place at the city’s King George V Playing Fields, also urged customers to “responsibly dispose” of any substances.

The two deaths are being treated as separate incidents and non-suspicious but Hampshire Constabulary said it was investigating.

Officers said Ms Jones was taken ill at 7.10pm before the man was found collapsed 20 minutes later.

A force spokesman said: “The deaths are being treated as separate incidents at this stage. They are not being treated as suspicious but enquiries are being made to determine the circumstances of what happened in each case.”

He added families of the people who died had been informed and were being supported by specialist officers.