A British-born doctor who has spent 20 years fighting cancer has died at a music festival as police probe a possible overdose.
Ajay Bhatnagar, 51, who was born in London, fell ill on Sunday (11 October) while attending a major worldwide electronic dance music festival.
The oncologist – who specialised in prostate cancer – passed away at around 5pm on Monday (12 October).
READ MORE: Influencer’s boyfriend suffered 10 internal injuries ‘before’ death plunge
Ajay had been attending the Electric Daisy Carnival in Medellin, Colombia, at the weekend when he became unwell.
He was rushed to the Clínica El Rosario in the city’s southern district of El Poblado, where his condition is said to have initially stabilised.
Tragically however, he couldn’t be saved and died a day later, as reported by Need To Know.
Local reports suggest Ajay may have died after ingesting high doses of amphetamine and alcohol, though investigators are yet to confirm an official cause of death.
Ajay moved from London to Pennsylvania in the US as a child before going on to found the Prostate Cancer Institute of Arizona in 2002.
Part of his clinical expertise involved a treatment known as focal brachytherapy, which targets cancer cells by placing radioactive implants in the affected area of the prostate.
His professional biography also says he was listed in the Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors awards in 2023.
Ajay was said to be involved in a number of charitable causes, including the Desert Cancer Foundation of Arizona. He also set up a “five-day [cancer] screening program in an underserved community,” the biography states.
The latter project earned him a Humanitarian Award in 2012.
On his business website, former patients left glowing reviews.
One wrote: “I have never had a doctor I felt so comfortable with.”
The tragedy comes after Australian tourist, Frank Stephen Ramírez, 46, was kidnapped and subjected to a brutal knife attack in Laureles on Sunday morning after attending the festival.
The death of Costa Rican man, Ismael Gerardo Méndez Huertas, 27, was also linked to the festival in the Colombian city.
The 27-year-old died in hospital after being found unresponsive and experiencing severe breathing difficulties on Saturday night.
READ MORE: ALLIGATOR found ‘taped and tied’ to pole outside school
