Eight people have died and hundreds have been injured at a music event in Houston, as a result of a crowd surge that happened during Travis Scott’s performance at Astroworld Festival.
According to officials, the crowd began to rush towards the stage when Scott started playing. As of now, eleven people were taken to hospital for cardiac arrest and eight have died. Three hundred people have been treated for injuries as a result of the incident.
The Houston Chronicle has reported that the event – which spans over two days – was attended by 50,000 people and they have labelled it “one of the deadliest concerts in U.S. history.”
“We had a mass casualty event here at Astroworld,” Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said. “We had people falling out and passing out.”
“I’ve heard of other events like this at soccer, but not here, not in these sorts of events,” Peña said.
The deadly incident reportedly happened around 9 pm, when Scott’s set was about to end and fans were pushing their way towards the stage. According to The Houston Chronicle, Scott stopped multiple times during his set as he spotted fans in distress and asked security to help them out of the crowd.
Shortly after, the “mass-casualty incident” was said to take place around 9:38 pm as the crowd rushed forward. It’s been reported that 55 Houston Fire Department units responded and started performing CPR on the injured.
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“It happened all at once,” Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite said. “It seemed like it happened over the course of just a few minutes.”
“The majority of people transported were in their 20s,” Satterwhite said. “We have parents asking about teenagers. We’re still working through everything.”
As of now, Scott has not publicly made a comment on the incident.
This is a developing story and we’ll give updates on the situation as we learn more.
