A “talented” and “promising” teenage girl, 17, died after “double dropping” ecstasy pills and ketamine at an under-18s DNB rave in Southampton an inquest has heard
A 17-year-old girl died after “double dropping” ketamine and ecstasy pills at an under-18s rave, an inquest has heard.
Aliya Agwu, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, went to the DNB rave event at Southampton’s the Engine Rooms in August 2023 where she told friends that she had taken the two ecstasy pills. She was also spotted taking ketamine.
After the rave ended at 10pm, Aliya and her friends went to the town’s central railway station, where she collapsed. She was taken by ambulance to Southampton General Hospital and died in the early hours after going into cardiac arrest.
Toxicology tests and a post-mortem examination revealed Aliya died of multiple organ failure having consumed an amount of MDMA – the drug which makes up ecstasy – which ‘could result in fatality’, Coroner Henry Charles told the hearing in Winchester.
They also showed she had taken a “recreational” level of ketamine, which is a general anaesthetic also taken illicitly.
The venue, which was only open to 16 and 17 year-olds had used sniffer dogs on entrance and was not selling alcohol. Aliya’s death was recorded as death by misadventure.
At the hearing, the coroner said: “It’s clear that she was a lovely, talented young person with huge promise.
“The nightclub had a policy of searching for drugs and put a lot of resources into that, more than enough to satisfy the police.
“Aliya and her friends had in effect clubbed together to buy drugs for the event.”
He went on to say that after the event finished, it soon became clear that Aliya was “not in a good way” and that despite swift “blue-light transfer to Southampton General Hospital, subsequent treatment was “unsuccessful”.
The coroner continued: ‘This was meant to have been an enjoyable night out, sadly the use of drugs, clearly with the intention of enhancing the experience of the evening, meant it ended in tragedy.’
Aliya’s mother, Faye, said in a statement read at the inquest that her daughter had a “natural energy,” adding: “Aliya was a beautiful person with so much ahead of her — her curiosity stole her from us.”
This news follows another inquest into the death of a baby who tragically died hours after birth and his mother tested positive for cocaine use during her pregnancy.
The hearing was told that exposure to the Class A drug was a secondary cause of death, though it remained “unclear to what extent” this played a role in the baby’s premature birth and subsequent passing.
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