Eight people are dead and several others – ‘some as young as 10’ – have been injured at the opening night of Travis Scott’s sold-out Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, on Friday, officials said.
Houston Fire Department Chief Sam Pena stated that panic broke out as the crowd began to press towards the front. said
Lina Hidalgo, Harris County Judge, confirmed the deaths at a press conference on Saturday morning. The second day of the event was canceled.
The third annual festival was a sell-out event that saw dozens of medics, ambulances, and staff attending to the needs of people.
Videos posted to social media showed officials giving CPR to some fans in the crowd at NRG Park as Scott continued to play. Many people appeared to be in serious condition, with some fans reporting that they even saw them appear dead.
The Houston Fire Department told ABC 13 that CPR was performed on at least two people, and Zack Tawatari, a reporter for KHOU, tweeted He can confirm that “several persons” were taken to the hospital.
It remains unclear what caused the injuries, what the injuries were, and exactly how many people were injured as of early Saturday morning, but authorities told FOX 26 that a lot of people are in need of medical attention on the scene.
Due to the volume of calls, they have decided to classify it as a level 2 incident.
Late Friday night, Astroworld attendees were treated with CPR by officials.
NRG Park saw multiple ambulances and personnel on Friday
Astroworld by Travis Scott is a sold out music festival with many artists
Astroworld, Travis Scott’s music festival, is being attended and photographed by numerous celebrities such as Kylie Jenner or Kendall Jenner.
General admission tickets were $180 and stargazer tickets $490.
ABC 13 reported that 100,000 tickets were sold within one hour of being on sale.
Mycah Hatfield (an ABC News Houston reporter) reported on Twitter that the festival was marred by chaos from day one, when doors opened at 2.
The gates were surrounded by a stampede. The VIP security entry was destroyed by hundreds of people, obstructing the checkpoint. People were trampled. She described the NRG Park scene as “some were detained.”
It appears that the stampede was not responsible for Friday’s mass injuries.
This is an breaking news story. More to come
An earlier stampede broke out as more people rushed through NRG Park’s gates.
Many people broke into the VIP security entry, bypassing checkpoints.
However, some people were left in pain by Friday’s chaos. The stampede appears not to be connected to any of the many injuries that occurred on Friday night.