At least eight people are dead and many others injured after a crowd surge during Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas.
According to CNN, 23 people were transported to local hospitals, 11 of which were in cardiac arrest. More than 300 people were treated at an onsite field hospital.
Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña said the crowd started to rush toward the stage around 9:15 p.m. CT. People started passing out, inciting more panic, at which point the Houston Police Department declared a mass casualty incident.
“The crowd for whatever reason began to push and surge towards the front of the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed – they were unable to escape that situation,” Peña said during a news conference early Saturday morning.
Authorities are investigating “what caused, one, the issue of the crowd surge, and two, what prevented people from being able to escape that situation,” he added.
I’m on air early with devastating news. 8 people died at Astroworld Fest. 23 had to be taken to the hospital and hundreds were hurt in a stampede (Travis Scott and Drake were on stage at the time).
Please pray. You can watch us here: https://t.co/5YSc9dqBrs pic.twitter.com/aCnneMWFqW
— Erica Simon (@EricaOnABC13) November 6, 2021
Festival organizers took to social media Saturday morning to release the following statement: “Our hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight – especially those we lost and their loved ones,” the statement read. “We are focused on supporting local officials however we can. With that in mind the festival will no longer be held on Saturday.
As authorities mentioned in their press conference earlier, they are looking into the series of cardiac arrests that took place. If you have any relevant information on this, please reach out to Houston Police. Thank you to our partners at the Houston Police Department, Fire Department, and NRG Park for their response and support.”
0 Comments