Another concertgoer (23) found dead after Dutch music festival

Yesterday afternoon the body of a male festival attendee, 23, was discovered in a canal in Biest-Houtakker.

On Sunday night, the 23-year-old victim’s family expressed concerns when he failed to contact them after the Dutch festival he was attending, called Decibel Outdoor, had ended, the NOS reports.

The police responded by issuing a citizen’s net for what was officially a missing person case and ultimately searching the forest near the festival grounds.

Coordinated search efforts

In collaboration with several other police units and the security team at Decibel Outdoor, the police tried to find the man in the forested area of the festival’s location.

Because of how difficult it was to see, they also deployed a helicopter for the search, RTL Nieuws reports.

Eventually, the body was discovered by a skipper in the canal on Biestsestraat, who saw something floating in the water and notified the police yesterday afternoon.

Translation: “The body found belongs to the missing man. The next of kin have been notified. We wish them a lot of strength. We are investigating the cause of death.”

A team of divers recovered the man’s body shortly thereafter. The cause of his death is currently unknown and still being investigated.

Second festival death

Unfortunately, this is not the only death that occurred at the Decibel Outdoor Festival this weekend.

On Saturday, the body of a different festival attendee, 19, was discovered in a tent on the festival’s camping grounds.

READ MORE | Body of 19-year-old man found in tent at Dutch music festival

Again, the cause of death is unknown, but it is assumed to be a “medical incident” of some kind, according to the regional broadcaster.

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Ellen Ranebo
Ellen Ranebo
As someone half Swedish and half Irish who has lived in the Netherlands, the UK, and attended an American School, Ellen is a cocktail of various nationalities. Having had her fair share of bike accidents, near-death experiences involving canals, and miscommunications while living here (Swedish and Dutch have deceptively similar words with very different meanings), she hopes to have (and document) plenty more in future.

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