Maya Nager: Fundraiser in memory of teenage girl who died at Edinburgh Halloween rave

Two charities representing things the teenager was passionate about have been chosen

A fundraising page has been set up in memory of a teenager who died at a Halloween rave event in Edinburgh.

Maya Nager, 19, collapsed during the Terminal V electronic music festival on Saturday evening (October 31) and was rushed to the Capital’s Royal Infirmary for treatment.

But despite efforts to save her life, the teenager was pronounced dead by medics on Monday morning.

Maya Nager died on Monday after falling ill at the Terminal V festival. Photo: Police Scotland

It is believed Maya ingested a substance in the hours leading up to the sold out dance event held at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston.

Now, a fundraising page has been set up in memory of the teenager, with people able to donate to two charities close to her heart.

The description on the page reads: “We are so grateful for everyone's support and concern and know that many people would like to do something to remember Maya by – so we have chosen two charities that represent things she was passionate about.

“During lockdown Maya volunteered at a project locally that did food parcels for homeless people who had been put into hotels during Covid – she loved the work and her colleagues, so we have chosen to support Homeless Project Scotland.

“It's a different organisation from the one she volunteered with – but would still be close to her heart.

“And Maya absolutely loved animals and was always on at us about getting a dog, and some ducks... so we have chosen SSPCA as the other charity.”

Police Scotland has now launched an investigation into the circumstances regarding Maya’s death.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: We were made aware of a 19-year-old woman taking unwell at an event in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, around 6pm on Saturday, 29 October, 2022.

“She was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment but sadly died on Monday, 31 October, 2022.

“Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the incident.”

A spokesperson for Terminal V said: “We are absolutely devastated at this news and our deepest sympathies are with the family. We continue to assist the police with their enquiries”.

The Terminal V Halloween 2022 rave event – billed as Scotland’s largest electronic music festival – was given the go-ahead despite police raising concerns after previous events were marred by drug-taking and hospitalisations.

The midday to midnight Terminal V festival was first held at the Royal Highland Centre in 2017 and initially attracted around 5000 people.

Last Saturday saw close to 20,000 dance fans attend the Halloween-themed event despite hundreds of arrests for drug incidents at previous events.

Police raised concerns over safety at an Edinburgh City Council licensing sub-committee meeting last month after a previous event saw three patrons needing to be placed in medically-induced comas.

At the council hearing, PC Greig Stephen said police had significant safety concerns following a large number of drug-related incidents at Terminal V in the past which had resulted in numerous hospitalisations and festival goers requiring treatment in intensive care units.

He said: “At each of the previous Terminal V events, there have been significant quantities of controlled drugs seized from patrons attending the event with serious medical incidents as a direct result of drugs misuse.”

And Claire Miller, the council’s senior public safety officer, called it the “highest-risk event” her department deals with.

Organisers told the meeting they had a “robust” drug detection set up.