In Texas, a stampede broke out during rapper Travis Scott's performance at a festival. Eight people died

At least eight people have died in a stampede that erupted on November 5 at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas. It is reported by the Associated Press, citing a statement by local authorities. 17 people were taken to the hospital, including 11 people who suffered cardiac arrest. One of the victims is 10 years old, notes . CNN

The crush arose at the opening of the festival, which brought together more than 50 thousand people. During a performance by rapper Travis Scott, who has hosted Astroworld since 2018, audiences crowded to the front of the stage, causing panic, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said. According to the Houston Chronicle, the excitement in the crowd intensified after rapper Drake joined Travis Scott on stage.

The audience began to crowd around the stage around 21:15 local time, some began to lose consciousness. And at 21:38 there was a "mass casualty incident", said Samuel Peña. “Everything happened at once. Apparently, this happened in just a few minutes. Suddenly, several people fell to the ground, probably in cardiac arrest or another attack,” said Houston Assistant Police Chief Larry Satterwhite.

During the concert, Travis Scott stopped the performance several times when he saw people pushing around the stage and asked security to help the injured get out of the crowd. Emergency vehicles drove up to the stage several times with their sirens and flashing lights on. on Twitter A video from the festival was posted , showing some of the audience jumping on the roof of a car with a flashing light while the performance is in progress.

The organizers stopped the event when they realized that there were victims. The second day of the Astroworld festival, scheduled for November 6, has been cancelled. Investigators are now trying to identify the dead. Local authorities say many of them were too "young". The organizer of the festival, Live Nation, and Travis Scott himself are cooperating with the police.

Alexander Baklanov

Cover photo: Trish Badger/IS/MPI/Capital Pictures / Scanpix LETA