Eight people are dead and 17 hospitalized following a mass casualty event at Travis Scott‘s Astroworld Festival in Houston last night.
On Friday evening (Nov. 5), Fire Chief Samuel Pena, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Police Chief Troy Finner confirmed the deaths and injuries at Astroworld during a press conference. Around 9:15 p.m., the crowd started to compress toward the front of the stage, according to Pena. Medics were performing CPR on victims once they started to fall out from the crowd. When police realized there was a mass casualty event happening around 9:30pm, police spoke with the promoters and Live Nation, the festival’s organizers, to stop the show early, to which Travis Scott complied.
Twenty-three people were transported to area hospitals, with 17 of them hospitalized after the incident. Eleven of those victims were in cardiac arrest during transport. A victim as young as 10 years old was taken to the hospital.
A statement from Astroworld Festival regarding the deaths has been released.
“Our hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight—especially those we lost and their loved ones.
We are focused on supporting local officials however we can. With that in mind the festival will no longer be held on Saturday.
As authorities mentioned in their press conference earlier, they are looking into the series of cardiac arrests that took place. If you have any relevant information on this, please reach out to @HoustonPolice.
Thank you to our partners at the Houston Police Department, Fire Department, and NRG Park for their response and support,” the statement reads.
Approximately 50,000 were in attendance at Astroworld. Over 300 people were treated at the on-site field hospital at the event throughout the day. The Houston fire department had 55 units that responded to the mass casualty event in addition to what Astroworld already had on-site.
Finner said 367 police officers and 241 security officers were already assigned to Astroworld before the incident occurred. He confirms the Houston Police Department is treating the deaths and injuries at Astroworld Festival as an investigation. Finner shared that he even heard rumors that people were being injected with drugs at the festival.
Astroworld Festival is officially canceled for day two. Live Nation, the festival’s organizers, is reportedly working with police to let them view video to help determine what happened.
Families of victims are encouraged to call the numbers provided by the Houston Office of Emergency Management.
“If you have not been able to contact your loved one who attended #ASTROWORLDFest please call 832-393-2991 or 832-393-2990,” reads a tweet provided by the Houston OEM.
A command post is located at Wyndham Hotel at 8686 Kirby Dr. in Houston to help identify the victims who died and families who need assistance.
XXL has reached out to Travis Scott’s team, a rep for Live Nation and Astroworld Festival organizers for comment.
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