At least eight people died and several were injured in the last hours due to a stampede among the attendees of the Astroworld music festival, in Houston, southern United States, reported the authorities and local media.
“The crowd began to gather at the front of the stage. This created a movement of panic that caused people to be injured,” Houston fire chief Samuel Peña said at a news conference. “We have at least eight people killed tonight (Friday) and several other wounded,” he added.
At least 17 people were taken to the hospital and 11 of them had suffered cardiac arrest, according to this official quoted by the news agency AFP. In addition, more than 300 people were slightly injured, including some with minor scrapes and bruises, according to authorities.
About 50,000 people attended the Astroworld music festival in the Texas city.
The stampede happened while the American rapper was performing Travis scott, that stopped the concert several times when he saw the panic movement, according to the media Houston Chronicle.
Houston police are investigating the cause of the incident by examining footage from the stadium.
Some, circulated on social media, show dozens of festival goers pouncing on the doors, while security guards are unable to contain the flow.
Several people can also be seen falling, knocking down the metal detectors at the stadium entrance, although it is unclear if that incident is related to the deaths.
“Within a few minutes, we suddenly had several people on the ground in some kind of cardiac arrest,” said Police Chief Larry J Satterwhite.
The festival was canceled and will not continue this Saturday as planned, authorities reported.
Astroworld is a music festival created by rapper Scott himself in 2018. The 29-year-old artist, who has a son with Kylie Jenner, one of the stars of a very popular reality show, became known in 2013 and has already achieved six Grammy nominations.
Other concerts were scheduled over the weekend such as that of the rappers Chief Keef and 21 Savage, and the Australian rock group Tame Impala.
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