Russian concert laser show blinds 30

Some concertgoers lost up to 80 per cent of their vision after attending the Aquamarine Music Festival on July 5, Kommersant, a Russian newspaper, reported.

Twenty people were undergoing treatment in Moscow hospitals, said Elena Grishina, the head doctor at the Moscow Ophthalmological Hospital.

"It is just a deterioration in the sharpness of the eyesight, not a burn," she said, but could not confirm that the injuries came from lasers.

"The treatment is not very pleasant. It involves a lot of needles," Dr Grishina said. "But all the patients are in optimistic spirits, and we are hoping for a good result."

According to Russian media reports, concertgoers said the festival's dance floor was covered by a canopy because it was raining. The lasers were pointed horizontally under the tent instead of into the sky, which led to the injuries.

"After five or ten minutes on the dance field, I couldn't see anything," a young man, pictured wearing sunglasses, told NTV television. "I could see out of my left eye, but my right eye is all fog."

The festival was held in the Vladimir region, east of Moscow. During the summer, music enthusiasts often organise open-air raves on empty fields outside Moscow.
A representative of the Vladimir regional government said the festival was organised illegally without proper permits. Police in the town of Kirzhach, where the festival was held, refused to comment.