Freedom Afisha has responded to reports of injuries in a crowd crush at a Kairat Nurtas concert in Shymkent and said it is ready to assist law enforcement in establishing all the circumstances of the incident, the website infohub.kz reports.
The incident occurred on October 10 at the entrance to the concert. Freedom Afisha confirmed it is looking into what happened and stressed that people's health and safety remain its priority.
"We were deeply alarmed by reports of injuries. We are establishing the circumstances of what happened and sincerely feel for everyone affected by this situation," the company's team said in a statement.
Freedom Afisha said it was ready to hand over to law enforcement all available information, including materials from the preparation of the event and data on how its team worked at the venue.
"We are committed to establishing all the circumstances of what happened as objectively and transparently as possible," the company said.
The concert, "Sakhnada 20 zhyl," was announced for the Central Stadium named after Kazhymukan as part of an anniversary tour marking the singer's 20 years in music.
According to the statement, the concert was organized by Show Service. Freedom Afisha handled ticket sales within the quotas set by the organizer, and at the venue its volunteers checked tickets and handed out wristbands. According to the company, preparing the venue, managing audience access and hiring security were not part of its duties.
The Freedom Afisha team said it was ready to take part in a joint review of the incident and in improving standards for organizing mass events.
"It is fundamentally important for us to help get to the bottom of what happened so that the necessary conclusions are drawn to prevent similar situations in the future," the company stressed.
Those injured and any witnesses with information about the incident were asked to call +7 771 936 53 53 or email help@ticketon.kz.
Freedom Afisha will continue to keep the public informed as verified information becomes available.