LAST UPDATE 11:09
At least eight people were killed and many more were injured when they were trampled by the crowd during the opening night of the Astroworld music festival in Houston on Friday, officials said.
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Penia confirmed the death toll during a press conference he gave in the early hours of the morning (local time) outside NRG Park.
Penia said that around 9pm, the crowd that had gathered for a concert by rapper Travis Scott began to gather in front of the stage causing panic and injuries.
People began to squirm unconscious and the unrest escalated to 9:38 p.m., when there was an “incident with mass casualties,” Penia said.
The Fire Department transported 17 people to the hospitals, 11 of whom were transported with a heart attack.
So far it is not known what caused the tragedy.
“I think it is very important that no one guesses at us. No one has all the answers tonight,” said Houston Police Chief Troy Finner. “If you do not have the facts, if you do not have proof, it is better not to talk. We have wounded families here,” he added.
Finner added that the organizers and Scott are cooperating with the police.
The company Live Nation, which was the organizer of the event, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It all happened all at once. It all seemed to happen in just a few minutes,” said Houston Police Deputy Chief Larry Sterwight.
“Suddenly we had people on the ground with some kind of heart attack or some kind of medical stroke,” he added.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Scott stopped several times during his 75-minute performance when he spotted spectators in danger near the front of the stage.
The rapper asked the members of the security to make sure that these people were okay and to help them get out of the crowd. Emergency vehicles with sirens and their flashing headlights passed through the crowd several times.
The Fire Department wrote on Twitter that a reunification center has been set up for families who do not have news from their loved ones at the festival.
A crowd of 50,000 people had gathered to watch the two-day event, the newspaper added. The second day of the festival was canceled.
According to the Houston Chronicle, County Judge Harris Lina Indalgo spoke of an “extremely tragic night.”
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
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Source From: Capital
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