On Friday, a surge broke out shortly after 9 p.m. while rapper Travis Scott was performing, leaving eight people dead and many injured amid chaotic scenes at Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Texas. Shortly after, the show was suspended after several people began to suffer injuries.
Nine people died after a crowd gathered at a music festival in Texas. The Astroworld event was canceled shortly after the incident. Seventeen people were taken to the hospital.
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena said the crowd pushed onto the stage shortly after 9:00 pm Friday (local time) while rapper Travis Scott was performing.
“The crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage, and that caused some panic, and it began to cause some injuries,” Peña said.
“People started fighting, losing consciousness and that generated additional panic.”
In a video posted on social media, Scott could be seen stopping the concert at one point and asking for help for someone in the audience: “Security, someone help real quick.”
The show was called off shortly after several people began to suffer injuries.
Seventeen people were taken to the hospital, including 11 who suffered cardiac arrest, Peña said.
So far eight deaths have been confirmed and multiple people have been injured at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Fest. pic.twitter.com/yDaCZpqdzC
— Rap Alert (@rapalert4) November 6, 2021
Many people were also treated at the scene in NRG Park, where a field hospital had been set up.
About 50,000 people attended the festival, Peña said.
The fire chief added that officials did not immediately know the causes of death for the eight people who died.
A coroner would investigate.
The deceased had not been identified until early Saturday morning local time.
Canadian hip hop artist Drake joined Travis Scott on stage at the concert, which was streamed live on Apple Music, and posted photos to Instagram after the performance.
Officials set up a reunification center in a hotel for family members who had not been able to communicate with relatives who attended the festival.
Houston Police Deputy Chief Executive Officer Larry Satterwhite was at the forefront of the crowd and said it appeared the surge “happened all at once.”
“All of a sudden, we had several people on the ground, experiencing some kind of cardiac arrest or some kind of medical episode,” Satterwhite said.
“So we immediately started doing CPR and moving people at that point, and that’s when I went and met with the promoters and Live Nation, and they agreed to finish early for the sake of public safety.”
Astroworld is a two-day music festival that was scheduled for Fridays and Saturdays in Houston.
The event was sold out, according to the Astroworld website.
Event promoters had arranged for medical units to be on stage at the festival, however, once the crowd surge began, those units were “quickly overwhelmed,” Peña said.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner called for calm and urged people not to speculate on the cause of the increase.
“I think it’s very important that none of us speculate. No one has all the answers tonight,” Finner said.
He added that there were several rumors surrounding the event that authorities would investigate.
“We are going to do an investigation and find out because it is not fair to the producers, to anyone else involved, until we determine what happened, what caused the increase,” he said.
“We don’t know, but we’ll find out.”
The Associated Press reached out to a representative for Scott, but did not immediately receive a response.
Finner told reporters that Scott and the promoters of the event cooperated with the police.
The death tide was the highest number of concert deaths in the United States since the 2003 Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people in Rhode Island.
Eleven people were killed and about two dozen were injured at a 1979 Who concert when thousands of fans tried to enter Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum.
Many people were also treated at the scene in NRG Park, where a field hospital had been set up.
About 50,000 people attended the festival, Peña said.
The fire chief added that officials did not immediately know the causes of death for the eight people who died.
A coroner would investigate.
The deceased had not been identified until early Saturday morning local time.
Canadian hip hop artist Drake joined Travis Scott on stage at the concert, which was streamed live on Apple Music, and posted photos to Instagram after the performance.
Officials set up a reunification center in a hotel for family members who had not been able to communicate with relatives who attended the festival.
Houston Police Deputy Chief Executive Officer Larry Satterwhite was at the forefront of the crowd and said it appeared the surge “happened all at once.”
“All of a sudden, we had several people on the ground, experiencing some kind of cardiac arrest or some kind of medical episode,” Satterwhite said.
“So we immediately started doing CPR and moving people at that point, and that’s when I went and met with the promoters and Live Nation, and they agreed to finish early for the sake of public safety.”
Astroworld is a two-day music festival that was scheduled for Fridays and Saturdays in Houston.
The event was sold out, according to the Astroworld website.
Event promoters had arranged for medical units to be on stage at the festival, however, once the crowd surge began, those units were “quickly overwhelmed,” Peña said.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner called for calm and urged people not to speculate on the cause of the increase.
“I think it’s very important that none of us speculate. No one has all the answers tonight,” Finner said.
He added that there were several rumors surrounding the event that authorities would investigate.
“We are going to do an investigation and find out because it is not fair to the producers, to anyone else involved, until we determine what happened, what caused the increase,” he said.
“We don’t know, but we’ll find out.”
The Associated Press reached out to a representative for Scott, but did not immediately receive a response.
Finner told reporters that Scott and the promoters of the event cooperated with the police.
The death tide was the highest number of concert deaths in the United States since the 2003 Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people in Rhode Island.
Eleven people were killed and about two dozen were injured at a 1979 Who concert when thousands of fans tried to enter Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum.
Reportedly, 50,000 people were in attendance at the Astroworld festival. The deaths were reportedly caused by trampling. The show’s paramedics were seen performing CPR on unconscious attendees.
Travis was on stage when the incident took place and stopped his act on many occasions after he saw fans in pain near the stage. 300 persons were given medical treatment at a medical facility at the venue.
Scott’s Astroworld Festival is a two-day affair that in addition to music includes carnival rides and games. Travis’s girlfriend Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner were also present at the concert. However, the second night on November 6 (Saturday) was called off.
