At least eight people died and hundreds were injured following a crowd surge at Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas.
Panic broke out on the night of November 5 during Scott’s set — which closed out the first day of the event — when attendees began pressing towards the front of the stage at around 9 p.m., Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told reporters at a press conference.
When Drake made a surprise appearance on stage, crowds surged further.
23 people, including 11 patients in cardiac arrest, were taken to nearby hospitals. Roughly 300 people were treated for injuries at NRG Park, the festival’s venue, where a field hospital was set up.
— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) November 6, 2021
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told The New York Times that a thorough review and investigation of the events that took place will be conducted.
“We do know that there were several cases of cardiac arrest. What was the cause of that?” he said, adding that it’s too early to assume that drug overdoses had anything to do with the night’s fatalities.
Approximately 50,000 people were in attendance during Scott’s set. According to the mayor’s office, those who died ranged in age from 14 to 27-years-old.
Scott reportedly paused his set more than once to ask security to assist audience members in distress. Several times, emergency vehicles cut through the crowds.
travis scott telling security to help someone in the crowd #ASTROWORLDFest pic.twitter.com/iq2LW1CQpF
— clea (@CleaSena) November 6, 2021
Video footage shows Scott addressing the situation. “If everybody good, put a middle finger up in the sky,” he said. Vehicles with flashing lights — ostensibly emergency response — can be spotted amid the crowd.
Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite, who was on-duty at the festival along with 367 police officers and 241 security officers, recounted the events: “Suddenly we had several people down on the ground, experiencing some type of cardiac arrest or some type of medical episode.”
“Our hearts are broken,” Judge Lina Hidalgo of Harris County, which includes Houston, said at a press conference. “People go to these events looking for a good time. It’s not the kind of event where you expect to find out about fatalities.”
https://youtu.be/9VP31bdWDzA
The rest of the weekend’s planned performances — which included Earth, Wind & Fire; Bad Bunny; and Young Thug — are canceled.
NRG Park is now a crime scene as investigators work to find out what exactly happened. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner urged people to refrain from jumping to conclusions regarding what exactly caused the crowd surge.
“I think it’s very important that none of us speculate. Nobody has all the answers tonight,” Finner said.
Officials said that a crowd surge that took place earlier in the day, when hundreds of show-goers rushed the event’s entrance, appears to be unrelated to the deadly events that took place at night.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CV7oUdHr1AC/
On Instagram, Astroworld released an official statement regarding the tragedy. “Our hearts are with the Astroworld festival family tonight — especially those we lost and their loved ones,” the statement begins.
“As authorities mentioned in their press conference earlier, they are looking into a series of cardiac arrests that took place. If you have any relevant information on this, please reach out to @houstonpolice.”
In a statement posted to Twitter, Scott said he is “absolutely devastated by what took place last night.”
“Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life,” the rapper added.
— Live Nation (@LiveNation) November 6, 2021
Live Nation, the organizer of Astroworld, expressed similar sentiments. “Heartbroken for those lost and impacted at Astroworld last night,” a statement posted to Twitter reads.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CV7NkBiLf3L/
Unverified accounts of the pandemonium have been circulating on social media. “The rush of people became tighter and tighter” one attendee described in an Instagram post.
“The screaming intensified, as more people realized they could not breathe. We begged security to to help us, for the performer to see us and know something was wrong. None of that came.”
One video posted to Reddit appears to show an attendee attempting to alert the crowd and a festival employee of the deadly situation. “People are fucking dying,” he yelled.
On Twitter, the Houston Office of Emergency Management announced that a reunification center for Astroworld attendees has been set up at a Wyndham Hotel in Houston. The organization also launched a hotline for those unable to reach loved ones who attended the festival.
UPDATE AS OF 0745 am: If you have not been able to contact your loved one who attended #ASTROWORLDFest please call 3-1-1 or 713-837-0311 or go to the reunification center at 8686 Kirby Dr, Houston, TX 77054.
— Houston OEM (@HoustonOEM) November 6, 2021
Further to his initial statement made via Twitter, Travis followed up with a series of stories on Instagram. He sends prayers to those that lost their lives and explained that work has been undertaken to try and identify their families and provide them with assistance. “My fans really mean the world to me,” he says, “and I always want to leave them with a positive experience.”
He goes on to reaffirm that authorities and organizers are working closely to get to the bottom of what happened at the festival, and pleads with anyone that has further information to contact local authorities. “I’m honestly just devasted and I can never imagine anything like this happening, I’m going to do everything I can to keep you guys updated and informed on what’s going on. Love you all,” he finishes.
https://www.instagram.com/stories/travisscott/2701363586600658332/
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has announced the names and ages of seven of the victims, who were between the ages of 14 and 27. The eighth has not yet been identified.
John Hilgert, the youngest of the victims, was a ninth-grade student. Families of the victims – Brianna Rodriguez, Franco Patino, Rudy Peña, Jorge Perez, and Jacob Jurinek – have shared their grief and thanks online for those that provided first aid as events unfolded.
It was also reported that thirteen people remained hospitalized as of Saturday afternoon, including five people under the age of 18.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says the eight people who died at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival were believed to be between the ages of 14 and 27.
"This is a very, very active investigation and we'll probably be at it for quite some time to determine what exactly happened." pic.twitter.com/L4Vk4VFMEM
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 6, 2021