Distressed about her friends’ mysterious conditions—which they later learned was likely a result of dehydration and hypothermia—Denise ran to get help.
The Solar Village, a wooden structure where Denise and her friends were sitting while trying to catch the sunrise on the last day of Wonderfruit. Photo: Courtesy of the Wonderfruit team
The festival grounds featured dozens of art installations and stage structures, as well as festival booths selling food and other products. Photo: Courtesy of the Wonderfruit team
She did not respond immediately to VICE World News’ request for comment via Facebook. The other reported fatality was Indonesian wakeboarder Kimo Rusna, who witnesses saw toppling to the ground from a platform. He was pronounced dead at Pattaya Memorial Hospital around midnight on Dec. 17.Rusna’s family told VICE World News that they are still very much in grief, and they think that Wonderfruit has not been fully transparent with them when it came to releasing details about Rusna’s death.“We know that he was under their care. We would like to have a clear understanding of the incident and what steps they took to ensure the safety of the people who were attending, including medical safety,” they said.“We would have appreciated a little more clarity on what really happened, but there’s just not much clarity.”
As investigators await forensic results from the two men to determine their causes of death, their preliminary findings suggested that Wyss died of suffocation, Coconuts reported. Rusna, authorities said, exhibited signs of overdose.
Despite its bohemian reputation, the festival has an explicit no-drugs policy where, according to the Wonderfruit website, attendees found “carrying or consuming drugs” may be “ejected” from the festival grounds. This policy, implemented when the festival was started in 2014, remained in place even with the recent legalization of weed in Thailand, Wonderfruit told VICE World News via email, adding that organizers rejected the applications from over 20 cannabis vendors due to “potential health and safety concerns.”But reality on the ground contrasted with the seemingly firm no-drugs stance. Interviewees told VICE World News that many drugs that were potentially dangerous if taken in high doses were openly consumed.“In Asia, these substances that are very dangerous, like fentanyl for instance, are coming. And unfortunately, I can't see a situation where these things don't cause more harm in the future.”
Some were concerned about the ease of getting drugs at Wonderfruit, which has an explicit no-drugs policy. Photo: Courtesy of the Wonderfruit team
Wonderfruit welcomed a record 25,000 attendees in 2022, after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic. Photo: Courtesy of the Wonderfruit team
Wonderfruit said that they supplied free water at points across the entire festival, but acknowledged they “encountered issues with refill stations” and “didn’t have enough signage,” in certain areas.
One of several free drinking water refill stations at Wonderfruit. Photo: Courtesy of the Wonderfruit team
Bella and her friends were dancing at Polygon Live when one of the bamboo structures erected around the stage, similar to the one pictured, started falling. Photo: Supplied
Polygon Live, a stage consisting of bamboo structures, which hosted techno raves at Wonderfruit. Photo: Courtesy of the Wonderfruit team.
