Ravers Blinded By Laser Light Show Outside Moscow
Attendees at a July 5 music festival outside Moscow received more than a dose of sound as more than 30 people suffered injuries to their eyes from a laser show.
The festival (really a rave) was an outdoor event with DJ music and a laser light show. Due to poor weather, a canopy was erected over the dance floor, and the laser show, which should have pointed the lights up into the sky, instead was directed horizontally across the dance area and into the ravers' eyes. A recipe for disaster?
About 20 people are in treatment now due to significant loss of sight. And the treatment, according to a spokeswoman from Moscow Ophthalmological Hospital 'involves a lot of needles.' (Yikes.)
But just how does a laser damage eyesight? Can one of those pocket laser pointers really ruin your retina? Apparently, pocket lasers are set to only one-tenth the damage threshold, but can cause temporary 'flash blindness.' More powerful lasers (Class 4 and above) can cause damage, sometimes without a person even realizing it at the time. It is unclear what types of lasers were in use at the rave, but we wouldn't be surprised if they were just a bit more powerful than average normal pen-mounted laser.
Ravers at the event reportedly tried to capture video on their cell phones, but even that didn't work when the laser light overwhelmed the phones' cameras. No word on if the eyesight damage is permanent or how long it will last. [Source: CNN]
