By Phil Helsel -
NBC News
At least eight people have died and several have been injured after a human avalanche during a concert this Friday at the Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas, which has all sold out tickets, according to the fire chief.
Seventeen people were taken to the hospital after the crash, and 11 who were taken by ambulance were in cardiac arrest, Houston authorities said.
More than 300 people were treated throughout the event on Friday at an on-site field hospital.
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Around 9:15 pm, "the crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage," fire chief Samuel Peña explained in a news conference early Saturday.
"That caused some panic, and it started causing some injuries, people started falling, becoming unconscious, and it created additional panic," added the fire marshal.
Festival goers on the first day of Astroworld Music Festival at NRG Park in Houston, Texas on Friday, November 5, 2021. Amy Harris / Amy Harris / Invision / AP
Houston Police Deputy Chief Lt. Larry Satterwhite, who was near the scene, explained that the situation developed rapidly.
“It seems like it happened over the course of a few minutes - all of a sudden we had several people on the ground experiencing some kind of cardiac arrest or some kind of medical episode.
We immediately started doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, ”he said.
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Some 50,000 people were at the event at NRG Park, which was being hosted by rapper and producer Travis Scott and kicked off on Friday.
The festival, which is in its third year, was expected to be a two-day event, but authorities said Saturday's lineup had been canceled.
Earlier in the day, multiple people were injured when festival goers rushed to a front entrance, according to KPRC of Houston, an affiliate of our sister network NBC News.
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"Our hearts are broken," declared Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.
"People go to these events looking for a good time, a chance to relax and to make good memories."
A reunification center has been established for anyone who has friends or family members who were at the concert and who have not heard from them, authorities said.
The cause of death for the eight victims is not yet known, but it will be determined, according to Peña.
Travis Scott performs on the first day of the Astroworld Music Festival at NRG Park in Houston, Texas, on Friday, November 5, 2021. Amy Harris / Inivision / AP
Few details were available early Saturday about the deaths and injuries, but among those taken to hospitals were some as young as 10, according to Hidalgo, the county judge.
Investigators were being sent to hospitals, according to police.
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Houston Police Chief Troy Finner urged people not to speculate about what happened, but clarified that the incident was being investigated, adding that Scott and other organizers of the event have cooperated.
“We just don't know.
But we'll find out.
Pray for these families ”, he declared.
Scott, 29, is from Houston.
He launched the Astroworld Festival in 2018 in his hometown as an annual event.
The festival did not take place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
His 2018 hit
Sicko Mode
reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year.
He's been nominated for nine Grammy Awards, including for that song and the
Astroworld
album
.