Dazzling Effect

More than 30 electronic music fans who attended the 'Aquamarine' festival in the Vladimir region may end up disabled. Hospitals in the capital continue to receive victims with severe retina burns, presumably from a laser beam directed at the audience. Some individuals have experienced up to an 80% loss of vision, and doctors say that fully healing these injuries is unlikely. From July 7th until the weekend, over 30 people aged 16 to 30 were admitted to several hospitals in the capital with the same diagnosis – retina burns. Most victims were taken to the city ophthalmological clinical hospital and the 32nd city hospital. They all returned from the Vladimir region, where the 'Aquamarine' electronic music festival took place in the forest near the city of Kirzhach on the night of July 6th. Officially, hospitals have refused to confirm mass hospitalizations, but attending physicians have reported identical injury patterns among the patients. 'All have retina burns with visible scars. Vision loss in some cases is up to 80%, and it cannot be restored,' said one of the doctors on condition of anonymity. An individual recounted, 'I vividly remember the moment of flash when the beam hit my eyes. I immediately saw a spot similar to what happens when you stare at the sun for too long. I didn't pay much attention to it, worked for two days thinking it would go away on its own. On the third day, I decided to stop by the hospital on my way to work. They examined me, immediately asked if I was at an open-air event, and promptly hospitalized me, not even letting me go back home for my belongings.' 'We wrote a statement detailing what happened and asked to hold the organizers accountable. The local police officer said it would be difficult to find them and only promised to take the statement to Kirzhach, where it will be registered at the scene of the incident,' said Denis. 'But everything will depend on the diagnosis, which has not yet been established. Doctors must prove that the injuries were caused by the laser specifically, not by alcohol consumption or, for example, loud noise.' In this case, all patients will be ready to file lawsuits for compensation for material and moral damages. The 'Aquamarine' festival is organized by the promoter company Cosmic Connection. There are no phone numbers listed on this organization's website. Alexander, known in techno music circles as DJ Sashi, stated that the laser show was commissioned to a company 'which has all safety certificates.' 'The setup was directed to the sky, but the company responsible for the laser installed a program that sometimes directed the beams downward,' said Alexander, refusing to disclose the company's name. 'This is an unprecedented story in our business. If the laser power exceeded 3-5W or it was an impulse laser on copper vapor, according to all safety regulations, it should not have been directed at people. If an unfocused beam of such power hits the retina up close, a burn occurs instantly,' explained Valentin Vasilyev, the head of the firm EQ organizing laser shows. 'In our business, there is a big problem: show organizers often have a poor understanding of how specific show equipment operates, some rental companies do not always monitor the condition of their devices correctly and employ plainly unqualified personnel.' 'The victims need to obtain an expert opinion, and if doctors prove a direct link between the laser show and vision loss, they should file lawsuits for compensation for moral and material damages, loss of profit,' stated lawyer Igor Trunov. 'The lawsuit amounts will vary significantly and depend on the circumstances. However, the victims will be able to demand compensation ranging from tens of thousands to millions of rubles.' Based on materials from Kommersant