Drunken concertgoer leaves woman with four broken ribs

Ylöjärvi resident Päivi Kaltio suffered four broken ribs at Eppu Normaali’s farewell concert on Saturday when a drunken man fell on her, Yle reported. One of the broken ribs was pressed into her lung.

Kaltio said the man stood up during the final song and fell on a woman seated above her. Both then fell onto Kaltio, who hit the concrete floor and a metal barrier.

She was taken to hospital, where doctors found the injuries. Kaltio remains in hospital and says she is still in severe pain. She plans to file a police report.

Kaltio criticised the event’s security staff, saying they had not intervened earlier despite the man’s disruptive behaviour. She said a security guard stood about two metres away throughout the incident.

“If you pay 119 euros for a place, you should be able to walk away healthy,” Kaltio said, describing the incident as an avoidable accident.

Police dealt with unusually many intoxicated people

Pasi Nieminen, a senior detective superintendent with the Central Finland Police Department, said police were aware of what happened to Kaltio. No police report had been filed in the case at the time of publication.

Nieminen said surprisingly few police reports had been filed from the concert area in relation to the size of the crowd. Almost 100,000 people attended Eppu Normaali’s farewell concerts over three evenings.

However, intoxicated people kept police significantly busier than during a typical weekend. Another event, the Tampere City Festival, was also held in Tampere at the same time.

“There were many intoxicated middle-aged and older people out. Some were taken into custody, while others were driven to hotels or home,” Nieminen said.

Food and drink sales reached record levels

Noho Partners was responsible for food and drink services at the concerts. The company would not comment on the amount of alcohol sold, but its chief executive, Jarno Suominen, said he suspected that sales records had been broken.

“I have never heard of food and drink being sold in such quantities at events held at Ratina Stadium,” Suominen said.

He said the sales volumes were expected and may even have exceeded expectations. According to Suominen, the audience had strong purchasing power, and the event also had a positive effect on the company’s other restaurants.

Iltalehti was the first to report on Kaltio’s injuries.