The Astroworld festival stage on November 9, 2019, in Houston, TX (AFP / SUZANNE CORDEIRO)
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“In a hurry”, “trampled”: a mob movement left eight dead and many injured on Friday at the Astroworld music festival in Texas, southern United States, with authorities calling for a full investigation into the tragedy.
“I saw people jump the barriers, they couldn’t breathe, it was horrible,” Gavyn Flores, who attended rapper Travis Scott’s concert in Houston, told AFP on Saturday, during which the drama occurred . “People were trying to get out but we couldn’t move,” said the 18-year-old.
Around 9:00 p.m. local time, the festival crowd started to crowd towards the front of the stage, causing panic and the first injuries, then people started to fall, to lose consciousness, which generated a movement of further panic, authorities reported overnight from Friday to Saturday.
Raul Marquez, 24, said he saw a lot of drinks and drugs consumed during the concert.
“They got excited and were just dancing, and then everything got out of hand and they couldn’t breathe, some were losing consciousness here and there,” said Raul Marquez.
“Some didn’t care, stomped on them, it was crazy,” he said.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told reporters on Saturday afternoon that there were eight dead, aged 14 to 27, and 25 people had been taken to hospital, 13 of whom were still there.
Authorities had previously reported more than 300 people having been treated in total, including minor bruises.
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena had reported 11 people in cardiac arrest during press statements outside NRG Park, where the event was being held.
– “People on the ground” –
“People were in a hurry, trampled and when I managed to push my way out of that, I saw people on the ground,” another witness, Logan Morris, told AFP.
In total, nearly 50,000 people were in the crowd to attend the Astroworld festival where more than 360 police officers and 240 security guards were mobilized.
Houston police have announced the opening of an investigation to determine the causes of this tragedy, adding that they were examining the video footage of the evening.
“We want a detailed account of what happened,” the mayor of Houston said on CNN, stressing that all leads would be explored and that organizers and witnesses were being questioned.
“Our thoughts are with the families tonight, especially those of those we have lost and their loved ones,” said the organizers of the event.
American rapper Travis Scott, who launched the Astroworld festival in 2018, said he was “absolutely devastated” in a statement released on Saturday.
– Resuscitation scenes –
The 30-year-old Texas-born artist has been nominated eight times for the Grammy Awards. He has a child with reality star Kylie Jenner, one of the girls of the Kardashian clan.
According to The Houston Chronicle, Travis Scott has repeatedly stopped his concert when he saw troubled spectators near the stage.
American rapper Travis Scott onstage at Astroworld on November 9, 2019, in Houston, TX (AFP / SUZANNE CORDEIRO)
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Images of NRG Park circulating on social media showed dozens of people rushing to exits, stepping over and knocking down metal detectors, facing outnumbered security guards unable to contain the crowds.
The videos showed many people falling, without it being possible to say that the deaths occurred in this context.
Other videos show rescuers resuscitating unconscious fans in the middle of the audience as the concert went on.
The rest of the festival, which was scheduled to continue on Saturday, has been canceled. Other artists scheduled to perform over the weekend included rappers Chief Keef and 21 Savage, as well as Australian rock band Tame Impala.
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