Two tourists from America and Canada have been found dead at a notorious EDM festival that was being held in Thailand.

The holidaymakers collapsed at the controversial Electric Daisy Carnival, organised by U.S. company Insomnia, on the island of Phuket on Saturday night.

Police said that Minh Panh, 32, from Des Moines, Iowa, along with Sharfaraz Ahmed, 28, from Thornhill, Ontario, were rushed to hospital but could not be revived. They were pronounced dead shortly after.

Officers are now investigating whether the pair of them had taken drugs at the dance event, which was banned from Los Angeles, California, in 2010 following the drug-induced death of Sasha Rodriguez, 15, at the LA Memorial Coliseum.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Kraisorn Boonprasop, the Deputy Chief of Investigations at the Thalang district station, said both tourists had traveled to the island to attend the event.

He said: 'Friends of the deceased said they had taken drugs. We are waiting for the results from an autopsy to confirm this.'

The policeman said that while cannabis is legal - and was freely available at the event - they will investigate if the pair had consumed hard drugs.

He added: 'An emergency call was received at 9:31pm informing officers of the death of a tourist at the EDC festival.

'The victim was identified as Mr Sharfaraz Maqbool Ahmed, a 28-year-old Canadian national. There were no signs of physical assault on his body.

'On the day of the incident, the deceased had attended the festival but later became unconscious.

'The field nurse at the event took the tourist to Thalang Hospital at 8:50 pm.

'The deceased was unconscious and still had a pulse. The doctor tried to stimulate the heart but could not save him. He was pronounced dead at 9:26 pm.'

Police said that Sharfaraz had been traveling alone. They are now probing whether he had any contact with the second man from Iowa.

Lieutenant Colonel Kraisorn added: 'Following the death of the first tourist, a second call was received later that night informing of the death of another tourist.

'Officers attended the scene again and the victim was identified as Mr Minh Nguyen Quang Phan, 32-years-old, and an American national.

'An examination of his body revealed no wounds from physical assault. He had attended the event and went into shock and lost consciousness.

'A nurse took the victim to the hospital where doctors attempted to revive his heart but they could not save him. He died just after midnight.'

This was the first time that the EDC festival had been held in Thailand. Organisers boasted it would have '90 of the world's leading DJs turning Phuket into the Ibiza of Asia'.

Players included The Chainsmokers, Skrillex, Afrojack and Illenium among others.

But the tragedy is the latest death to hit the notorious rave event.

In 2010, Sasha Rodriguez, 15, died from MDMA (ecstasy) intoxication, sparking increased scrutiny of the festival's safety protocols and its association with drug use.

The city of Los Angeles imposed a suspension on all remaining events scheduled for 2010 and future events.

The festival moved to Las Vegas, where in 2012, high winds forced the early closure of the second night of the event. Attendees were directed to the speedway's bleachers as a safety precaution.