AROUND 30 PEOPLE were treated for hypothermia at an outdoor techno music festival in France after unexpected snowfall left many ravers sheltering under survival blankets distributed by the Red Cross.

Up to 10,000 people attended the unauthorised Teknival 2019 festival in the central Creuse region at the weekend, where temperatures dropped to -3 degrees Celsius overnight on Saturday and Sunday. 

Some 30 people were treated for hypothermia at the scene and two were taken to hospital, locals said – with several centimetres of snow turning the festival camping experience into an endurance test.

Organisers put a heated tent on the muddy hill-top site, which belongs to the French military, and the Red Cross distributed 500 survival blankets to revellers at the scene.

Teknival is an unauthorised electronic music festival that is held annually at a secret location which is revealed only at the last minute. 

French authorities had attempted to prevent this year’s edition and police succeeded in stopping several trucks carrying sound systems from arriving. 

Last year, to mark its 25th year, the festival was held at a military base in northern France.

Organisers were accused by local conservation groups of disturbing a nearby nature zone and unsettling the local birdlife. 

© – AFP 2019