Australian Woman Dies While Partying In Malta As Contaminated Pills Hit South Europe
The family of an Australian woman who came to Malta for a fun holiday have been left heartbroken and confused after finding out she died in the middle of the night while partying on the island.
Chrystal Mateiasevici was a 32-year-old from Melbourne, Australia known to be full of life and love. A social character, she was on holiday across Europe – she had just been in Berlin, Germany – before meeting up with her cousins locally.
Last Saturday 16th July, she attended a party in central Malta attended by a few hundred people.
Everything was going fine, until, in the early hours of the morning, Chrystal needed to lay down.
Other partygoers who attended the event told Lovin Malta they saw Chrystal lay on a sofa, clearly in medical distress, but that no professionals really attended to her.
Eventually, medics appeared, and she was taken away, and certified dead that same night.
A police spokesperson confirmed with Lovin Malta that they were informed of an incident at around 3.20 am, and that she was given CPR on scene, but later died at hospital. Magistrate Claire Stafrace has opened an inquiry into the death and police investigations are ongoing.
Her death comes just two weeks after another partygoer – Colombian woman Sami Zamudio – lost her life after ingesting something, and quickly finding herself in distress – and among reports of similar party overdoses in other South European party zones, like Ibiza, Spain, and Mykonos, Greece.
One person intimate with South Europe’s clubbing scenes told Lovin Malta that a trail of bodies have been left in the wake of adulterated pills making the rounds on the black market.
“Four people died in Ibiza within two weeks, another in Paris a few days ago, another two at Pacha Night Club… it seems a batch of bad drugs is going around, they are dirt cheap and doing the rounds, with some dealers using Fentanyl in their mix.”
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths.
Earlier this year, one person even died after ingesting champagne that had been spiked with ecstasy, leading to a warning by Maltese authorities.
It is worth noting that an official reason behind Chrystal’s death has not been released publicly.
Chrystal in happier days
Tess Galea, Chrystal’s auntie, told Lovin Malta her family in Australia were still waiting for answers from Maltese authorities.
Shocked and heartbroken by the news, Chrystal’s mother actually got on a plane and caught a flight to Malta immediately after she was given the news – but Tess said they still have not been given much information about what happened exactly, and they had many questions that needed answering.
After contacting Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, they were given more information, but still “very limited”.
“We are getting conflicting reports, and the timeline between her passing and the parents being notified was a few hours. The police did not contact her mother directly, even though she was the emergency contact on her passport,” Tess said, pointing out that it was a local relative that informed Chrystal’s mother of what happened.
“As you can understand we need answers, and this has unfortunately left Chrystal’s mother with no choice but to go to Malta to get some answers,” she continued.
A fundraiser was set up by Chrystal’s friends after her death, though it’s since been taken down for personal reasons.
But her friends and family want to remember Chrystal as they knew her – full of life, bubbly, always game for a good time with a wide, cheeky smile often adorning her face.
Lovin Malta sends its condolences to the Mateiasevici and Galea families during this difficult time
READ NEXT: Portelli’s Jerma Hotel Development Goes On Sale Without PA Application Or Permits
