A devastating “mass casualty incident” took place at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival on Friday night that killed at least eight people and injured thousands.

The shocking incident took place during a crowd surge while Scott was performing. Other artists slated to perform at the festival included SZA, Drake, Lil Baby and 2 Chainz. SZA, Lil Baby and Drake performed prior to the “mass casualty incident” but the second day of the festival was cancelled in light of the event before some of the other artists were scheduled to play.

SZA – along with a slew of other artists – has publicly spoken about the devastating event, that took place shortly after her set.

“Speechless about last night I’m actually in shock n don’t even know what to say .. just praying for everyone in Houston especially the families of those that lost their lives,” SZA wrote on Twitter.

Kid Cudi, an artist that Scott has previously said inspired his stage name, also shared condolences on the same platform.

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“Really messed up about the news at Astroworld. My heart goes out to the families who lost a loved one lastnight and everyone who was injured. Sad fuckin day man,” he wrote.

Scott has shared a written statement on his Twitter account and the rapper also took to his Instagram stories this morning (Australian time), sharing a seven slide story that shows him speaking about the incident.

“I just want to send out prayers to the ones that was lost last night so we can help assist them through this tough time,” he said.

He added: “My fans really mean the world to me,” Scott said. “I always just want to leave them with a positive experience. I could just never understand the severity of the situation.”

As of now, neither Drake or Lil Baby – who performed on the stage shortly before the deadly event – have made a public comment or statement.

According to officials in Houston, the Astroworld crowd began to rush during Scott’s set at around 9 pm (American time), and fans were pushing their way towards the stage.

Shortly after, the “mass-casualty incident” was said to take place around 9:38 pm as the crowd surged forward more. It’s been reported that 55 Houston Fire Department units responded and started performing CPR on the injured. 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.

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