Eight killed during surge incident at Astroworld Festival in Houston
Posted on Monday, November 8th, 2021 at 3:41 pm
HOUSTON, TX — Eight people died Friday in a crowd surge that hurt hundreds during a performance by rapper Travis Scott at Houston’s Astroworld Festival, according to Houston Chronicle.
Authorities said the event turned fatal shortly after Scott appeared on stage at NRG Park at around 9:00 p.m.
At the onset of the performance, which marked the closing of the evening, the crowd of roughly 50,000 attendees appeared to have begun pushing their way toward the stage. As the crowds grew tighter during the course of the set, multiple audience members became crushed and trampled on.
According to Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña, around 55 Houston Fire Department units responded to the “mass casualty event.”
Footage shared by concertgoers on social media show first responders performing CPR on unconscious victims as the show continued on.
Authorities confirmed eight people, including multiple teenagers and young adults, died as a result of the incident.
At least seventeen others were rushed to hospitals with undisclosed injuries, but eleven of those victims were said to have been in cardiac arrest.
300 other attendees were treated at a field hospital on-scene at NRG Park.
The fatal incident prompted festival organizers to cancel the second day of the planned two-day event.
An investigation remains ongoing.
