Crush at Travis Scott concert in Houston kills at least eight, injures many

HOUSTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) – At least eight people were killed and many others injured in a crush at the opening night of rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival in Houston triggered by a surge of fans toward the stage, officials said on Saturday.

The disaster unfolded at NRG Park at around 9 p.m. on Friday while Scott was performing. Some in the sold-out audience of about 50,000 began to push toward the stage, causing panic and injuries.

People began to fall unconscious, some apparently suffering cardiac arrest or other episodes, officials told reporters outside the concert 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.

“It felt like we was in a concert in hell, you couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t see,” a concert-goer with the Twitter handle @officialshaane said in a video posted online.

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.

The Astroworld festival 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.

In an interview with CNN, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña described how the crowd crush quickly overwhelmed the private security hired for the festival’s first day.

Authorities transported about 23 people in serious condition, 11 of them critical, Pena told CNN. At least eight people succumbed to their injuries, he said, adding that the injured included a 10-year-old.

An ambulance is seen in the crowd during the Astroworld music festiwal in Houston, Texas, U.S., November 5, 2021 in this still image obtained from a social media video on November 6, 2021. Courtesy of Twitter @ONACASELLA /via REUTERS

He said the death toll could rise.

Organizers and Scott were both cooperating with police.

“We are focused on supporting local officials however we can …,” Astroworld Fest, an event organized by Live Nation Entertainment, said on Twitter. It said it was cancelling Saturday’s second day of the festival.

FANS IN DISTRESS

Scott stopped multiple times during his 75-minute performance when he spotted fans in distress near the stage, video posted online showed. He asked security to make sure they were safe and help them out of the crowd. Emergency vehicles, lights and alarms flashing, cut through the audience several times.

The fire department said on Twitter that a reunification center had been set up for families who had not heard from loved ones at the festival.

In one clip shared on social media on Saturday, an ambulance was seen pulling up even as the crowd continued to sway their arms to the music.

Another clip, which Reuters could not immediately verify as authentic, showed police personnel performing CPR on several people even as music blared in the background.

Houston-born Scott came to fame in the early 2010s for his unique vocal style. Astroworld is also the name of his third studio album released in 2018 to critical acclaim.

Scott and Kylie Jenner, from the famed Kardashian family, have a daughter.

Reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston; Bhargav Acharya and N. Sabahatjahan in Bengaluru; Timothy Gardener in Washington; Writing by Frank McGurty; Editing by Giles Elgood, Frances Kerry and Daniel Wallis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

source: reuters.com