Partygoers suffer burns and light sensitivity after Bored Ape NFT event in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Free Press
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Partygoers who attended this weekend’s ApeFest NFT event have complained of burns and eye problems, with organiser Yuga Labs vowing to investigate.
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In 2017, HKFP reported on a similar incident at a Hypebeast event, where an inappropriate choice of ultraviolet light left revellers with skin burn and light sensitivity.
Yuga Labs’s Bored Ape account on X said on Monday that they were aware of eye-related issues following their pop-up-event, and have been reaching out to attendees to find out the cause.
Apes, we are aware of the eye-related issues that affected some of the attendees of ApeFest and have been proactively reaching out to individuals since yesterday to try and find the potential root causes. Based on our estimates, we believe that much less than 1% of those…
— Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) November 6, 2023
“Based on our estimates, we believe that much less than 1% of those attending and working the event had these symptoms. While nearly everyone has indicated their symptoms have improved, we encourage anybody who feels them to seek medical attention just in case,” they said.
Omg yes ! Me and @racs_o eyes are burning so bad !
— nEEnEE (@bored_nene) November 5, 2023
Another said: “Got diagnosed with ‘photokeratitis over both eyes, accident related’ with prescribed steroid eye drops and eye lubricants. My vision was tested as close to perfect with no serious cornea damage, luckily.”
[For information purposes only]
So far, 30 hours since woke up with severe eye burn, I’ve visited emergency hospital and eye clinic and spent there a total of 6 hours.
Got diagnosed with “photokeratitis over both eyes, accident related” with prescribed steroid eye drops and eye… https://t.co/qZadVqsQFg pic.twitter.com/5EULptCR4H
— Adrian Zduńczyk, CMT (@crypto_birb) November 6, 2023
One X user who attended said that a doctor told them stage lights were to blame.
Apefest 2023
— fity.eth (@Fityeth) November 6, 2023
HKFP has reached out to Yuga Labs for comment.
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