After a crowd surge at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston, eight people were killed.
Officials say eight people have died and “scores more others” have been wounded as a result of a crowd surge at Houston’s Astroworld music event.
At a news conference early Saturday, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pea said the “mass casualty event” happened about 9 p.m. Friday night when a crowd began to “squeeze” toward the front of the stage, “creating some fear, and it started causing some casualties.”
“People started to fall out and became unconscious, which added to the fear,” he claimed.
Seventeen persons were sent to the hospital, with 11 of them suffering from cardiac arrest. The reason of the eight fatalities will not be known until the medical examiner’s inquiry is concluded, according to Pea.
On Friday, the opening night of a two-day festival, some 50,000 people attended the music event. While rapper Travis Scott was on stage, the crowd erupted.
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“At some point, the concert was halted because the audience had swelled,” Pea said.
The festival’s second day has been cancelled since the event finished early.
“All of a sudden, we had many folks down on the ground, suffering from some form of cardiac arrest or medical event,” Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite said. “So we began giving CPR and transferring people straight away,” she says. “And that’s when I went and spoke with the promoters and Live Nation, and they decided to call it a night early in the interest of public safety.”
“Our thoughts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight – particularly those we lost and their loved ones,” the festival stated in a statement released early Saturday.
“We are committed to assisting local government in any way we can. As a result, the event will no longer take place on Saturday.”
The reason of the spike, according to Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, is unknown. An investigation will be carried out by the authorities.
Judge Lina Hidalgo of Harris County remarked, “Our hearts are torn,” and added, “This is the last place we want to be.”
Scott, 29, has received eight Grammy nominations. He was born in Houston and has a daughter with Kylie Jenner. Three years ago, he launched the Astroworld Festival.
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source: cbsnews
