Hauston Nov 7 : A crush of rap music fans pushing toward the stage during Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival in Houston killed at least eight people and injured many more as panic rippled through the packed crowd, officials said on Saturday.
The disaster unfolded at NRG Park at around 9 p.m. on Friday during the headline performance by Scott, a Grammy Award-nominated singer and producer. As some in the sold-out audience of about 50,000 surged toward the stage, people began to fall unconscious, some apparently suffering cardiac arrest or other medical issues, officials told reporters outside the venue. Minutes later the chaos was declared a “mass casualty incident.”
“It happened all at once. It seemed like it just happened … over the course of just a few minutes,” said Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite.
“Within the first 30 seconds of the first song, people began to drown – in other people,” a concert-goer with the Instagram handle “Seannafaith” wrote online. “It got tighter and tighter, impossible to breathe as our lungs were compressed between the bodies of those surrounding us. More people began to scream for help.”
Houston-born Scott said he would support the police as they investigate the incident and wanted to help the community heal.
“I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival,” Scott wrote on Twitter. “Love You All.”
It was not yet clear what caused the disaster. An investigation was underway that is likely to focus on security and safety protocols at the event.
Two weeks ago, organizers of another Houston concert canceled it abruptly after fans pushed through a gate and stormed into a Playboi Carti show being held within the same NRG Park complex.
Astroworld, a two-day music festival that was scheduled to culminate on Saturday, had a similar breech at about 2:30 p.m. Friday and went ahead with the show, according to TV reports.
“I think it’s very important that none of us speculate. Nobody has all the answers tonight,” Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference.