A music festival intended to promote responsible behaviour during the festive season is said to have degenerated into alcohol-fuelled crime and violence.
The organisers of the festival, Ukhozi FM and the Ladysmith municipality, denied reports of stabbings and a rape but paramedics said yesterday that they attended to more than 25 people injured at the annual Nyusi Volume Music Festival on Saturday.
KwaZulu-Natal emergency medical services said it transported four patients to hospital.
Ladysmith's Sharaj Medical Response ambulance service said paramedics treated at least 25 people who had been stabbed with knives or glass bottles.
Paramedic Natasha Mahabeer said a woman who had been raped was taken to hospital.
"Most of the patients had been stabbed," she said.
A festival-goer, who did not want to be named, said he was stabbed when he stopped to help a man who was bleeding.
"I bent down to help this man when I was stabbed. The stabbings were random," he said.
Paramedics said the provincial hospital did not have enough beds for the influx of patients.
Ladysmith municipality spokesman Sipho Maphalala said security officials reported only two incidents at the event, which was aimed at "creating awareness of festive season safety".
"Security was adequate, including marshals and Ezakheni and Ladysmith police. We have no report of a rape at the event," he said.
Ukhozi FM spokesman Mu Ngcolosi said the organisers did not receive any police reports of violence.
"This is the first time that I am hearing of this. The municipality has been praising us. I left the event at 1am and I did not see anything of this nature.
"If this really happened, it would come as huge shock to me because the campaign is about safety and responsible drinking, and curbing drug use.
"The event is inside the sports complex but there are people who are on the outside. We have no control over them so it could have happened outside the event," he said.