Following the first day of Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, his annual festival held in Houston, Texas, reports quickly began flooding social media that multiple people were injured and killed. In the early morning of Nov. 6, Judge Lina Hidalgo and Chief Sam Pena of the Houston Fire Department held a press conference and confirmed that eight have been confirmed dead as of 2 a.m. CST. Chief Pena also reported that the fire department transported 17 people to hospitals, 11 of which were in cardiac arrest.
In photos and videos shared to social media, concertgoers reported on-site paramedics performing CPR unsuccessfully to multiple people, with countless unconscious audience members being pulled out of the crowd by security. There were also videos of fans breaking into the fence to enter the festival without tickets, as well as photos of people laying unconscious on the ground in the middle of Scott’s performance.
In a text leaked onto social media by festival staff that was sent at 1:15 a.m. CST, it said:
Team CSC! Sorry for the late text. Astroworld Day 2 (11/6/21) has been CANCELLED! There will be very limited posts available. Please do not arrive to NRG-your shift has been cancelled. If we need help we will call more staff in. Thank you for ALL your hard work and efforts today.
Shortly after, Chief Pena announced that Astroworld would be canceled on Saturday, Nov. 6.
In a statement shared on the festival’s official social media, Astroworld said:
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 Houston Office of Emergency Management has set up an emergency phone line to assist those affected. Anyone unable to reach their loved ones who attended Astroworld are encouraged to call 311 or 713-837-0311. Alternatively, they can go to the reunification center at 8686 Kirby Dr., Houston, TX 77054.
Paste has reached out to Astroworld representatives for comment.
