8 dead and more injured at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival
(Credit: Frank Schwichtenberg)

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8 dead and more injured at Travis Scott's Astroworld festival

Tragedy has hit Travis Scott‘s Astroworld festival as Texas police confirm that eight people have died while attending the November 5th event. Hundreds of more injuries have been reported after a crowd surge caused chaos.

Described as a “mass casualty”, the surge occurred during Scott’s headline show on the Friday night of the event, with Saturday’s event now cancelled.

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said, “at approximately 9.15pm, the crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage. And that caused some panic, and it started causing some injuries.”

Peña also confirmed that a further 17 people were admitted to the hospital, 11 of which had suffered a cardiac arrest. Additional reports have suggested that far more injuries occurred amid the 50,000 strong crowd at the NRG Park in Houston.

Travis Scott halted on several occasions during the performance as he noticed fans climbing platforms to signal for help. So far, Scott has not commented on the events.

Various footage is circulating the internet from the show, witnessing the tragic events, but Chief of Police Troy Finner warned: “It’s very important that none of us speculate; nobody has all the answers tonight.”

A hospital has been set up on the festival site with a reunification centre also put in place to provide a meeting point for families who haven’t heard from loved ones.