Tragedy struck at the Astroworld music festival in the southern US state of Texas on Friday night, when no fewer than eight victims including a 10-year-old were feared killed and several others injured during a stampede.
Reports say that the festival which kicked off on Friday, November 5, 2021, in Houston was abruptly cut short after panic broke out when the crowd surged toward the concert stage.
Houston fire Chief Samuel Pena said the incident began at around 9 pm when “the crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage”.
“That caused some panic and it started causing some injuries, people began to fall out, become unconscious and it created additional panic,” Pena said at a press conference outside NRG Park.
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“We had at least eight confirmed fatalities tonight and scores of individuals that were injured,” he said, adding the cause of death cannot be confirmed until after medical exams are completed.
“We transported 17 patients to the hospital… 11 of those that were transported were in cardiac arrest,” he said.
Around 50,000 people were in the crowd at American rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, Pena added.
