Norwegian graduation party organizer tightens laser checks after second eye injury

A major Norwegian graduation celebration in Sandvika will enforce daily equipment inspections on party buses after two students suffered laser-related eye injuries in separate incidents this month, the event’s director told Dagbladet.

Torstein Løvlid, managing director of Kaddatreffet, confirmed technicians will remove or disable any non-CE-marked or unsafe equipment from the 11 buses admitted each day. “We’re doing the same as last year—our team checks every bus each morning,” he said. “We perform quality and condition assessments and disconnect anything deemed hazardous.”

The measures follow two high-profile injuries: a 19-year-old male student from Kristiansand was blinded in one eye at an Arendal gathering on May 17, while Marianne Hansen, 19, sustained potential permanent damage at a Tryvann event in Oslo on May 26. Police are investigating both cases.

Oslo University Hospital (OUS) warned that even millisecond exposure to high-powered lasers can permanently impair vision. “Laser beams can cause severe retinal damage,” said Ingar Stene-Johansen, chief physician at OUS’s ophthalmology department. “Sunglasses offer no protection. We urge students to turn these devices off.”

Kaddatreffet, running this weekend, operates with private security, medical staff, and police coordination. Løvlid noted many buses have already removed lasers following recent warnings. “The students care,” he said. “Most likely took them off long before arriving.”