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Travis Scott's AstroFest: 8 die in stampede as fans break down security barriers

A few videos surfaced show a massive crowd breaking down the security barriers and pushing towards the venue

UPDATE: Hours after the stampede, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena confirmed that eight people lost their lives during day one of the AstroFest. It is also being reported that the second day of the festival has been canceled. Eleven

According to ABC13, Pena said, "The crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage, and people began to panic.” KHOU 11 News Houston tweeted, "HFD Chief Sam Pena: At around 9 or 9:15, the crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage and that caused panic and people were getting injured. HFD transported 17 people to hospitals. 11 of those transported were in cardiac arrest."

Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival has proven to be one of the biggest music festivals in the last few years and the latest edition too made a lot of noise but only for the wrong reasons. The third edition of Astroworld opened its gates on November 5 and chaos ensued as the crowd went berserk right at the entry points.

A few videos surfaced on the Internet where we could see a massive crowd breaking down the security and pushing towards the venue at NRG Park in Houston, Texas. Though there are no reports of injuries, as of now, the videos that surfaced left a lot of social media users in shock. Travis Scott’s music fest was last held in November 2019, and it became the largest single-day artist-curated music festival in the country when over 50,000 fans flocked to witness the legendary show. The 2019 edition saw artists like Post Malone, Rosalia, Pharrell Williams, DaBaby, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Playboi Carti, and Megan Thee Stallion hitting the stage.

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Third Astroworld Festival opens with a stampede

In a video shared by a reporter of publication ABC 13, the crowd at Astroworld Festival can be seen climbing onto portable toilets as security personnel try and contain the crowd. A stampede-like situation arose as the crowd tried to enter through the VIP entrance. A sea of people was spotted pushing each other at the entrance of the sold-out third edition. According to ABC13, members of the Houston Police Department's Mounted Patrol Unit were also spotted at the venue as they tried to control the chaos. In 2019, three people were reported injured as a similar stampede occurred back then.

Shedding light on the incident, ABC13 Reporter Mycah Hatfield tweeted, “As we were arriving to the Astroworld Festival at NRG Park right at 2:00, a stampede burst through the gates. Hundreds of people destroyed the VIP security entrance, bypassing the checkpoint. People were trampled. Some were detained.” Travis Scott had announced the third annual edition of the festival back in August. The latest edition will see artistes like SZA, Roddy Ricch, Lil Baby, Don Toliver, and others taking over the stage. Astroworld Festival was first launched by Travis back in 2018. The mega event was canceled in 2020 due to the unfortunate Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Can't stop the ragers’, says Twitter

Social media users expressed their valuable opinion as soon as the videos of the stampede surfaced on Twitter. “What’s so great about it that causes people to act like this?” asked one user as another joked, “You trip once and you finna attend a pop smoke concert.” One user asserted, “Between carti and Travis idk who’s fans destroy the most property lol.” The next one tweeted, “All this + ppl getting hurt so you can get a hoodie, see a concert and post 608 videos on yoir snap story that you'll save and repost in 2 weeks talkin bout "ugh take me back"
 
Another concerned user stated, “Damm hopefully people wasn't stuck under that fence.” One person said, “I swear i don’t see a person over 16. Like who let their children do this s**t lmao.” One individual added, “Sh*ts wild, crazy last time also! Can't stop the ragers” as another chimed in, “It’s the management of this festival should have enough security and police. Did they not learn from years before smh.” And, one concluded, “That's absolutely ridiculous and completely foolish.”