Distressing footage of crowd members scaling camera platforms to beg for help have emerged from the deadly Travis Scott festival where eight people died.
Heartbreaking footage of desperate crowd members from Astroworld scaling camera towers begging for help has emerged online, prompting many to ask why more wasn’t done sooner.
US rapper Travis Scott says he is “absolutely devastated” after at least eight people died and many were injured in a deadly crowd surge at the opening night of the event in Houston, Texas.
A clip shared on TikTok shows a woman climb a ladder to get atop a camera tower positioned within the heaving crowd and scream for help.
“There’s someone dead, stop the show,” she can be heard yelling up to the staffer.
When no one responds to her please she then steps onto the platform and screams again while pointing down to the crowd below.
“There’s someone dying in there, there’s someone dying in there.”
At this point another crowd member climbs the ladder as he cries out for help.
“Stop the show, stop the show,” he can be heard shouting.
A camera man appears to have an interaction with the pair before then turning back to his screen in during the 35-second clip that has been shared by an account named @astroverse007.
Scott — whose pregnant girlfriend Kylie Jenner was also at the event, but was uninjured — posted a heartfelt message on Twitter overnight.
“I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” he said.
“My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at the Astroworld Festival.
“Houston PD (Police Department) has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life.
“I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support.
“Love you all.”
The incident occurred on Friday night local time, with confronting footage from social media showing fans at the 50,000 strong event being treated by paramedics at the scene.
Fans “began to compress” towards the front of the stage while Scott was performing, causing chaos and mass injuries.
However as footage emerges online of confronting scenes and fans begging employees for help – some are beginning to question why action wasn’t taken sooner.
“Why didn’t they call for an ambulance when this is what was happening?” one asked on TikTok.
“Their pleas are falling on deaf ears,” another wrote.
Scott’s pregnant girlfriend Kylie Jenner was watching him perform alongside their three-year-old daughter Stormi, according to the Daily Mail.
There is no suggestion Jenner or Stormi are among those injured.
Jenner posted a series of videos to her Instagram story of Scott performing, including one which showed an ambulance making its way through the crowd of concertgoers.
In a statement from Astroworld’s Twitter account organisers said their “hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight – especially those we lost and their loved ones” and they are “focused on supporting local officials”.
‘Somebody help’: Early pleas in concert
Prior to the crowd surge, footage shared on Twitter showed Scott interrupting his set to request festival staff to intervene.
“Security, somebody help, jump in there real quick,” the 29-year-old can be heard asking.
“Somebody jump in, come on, come on, security.”
The exact cause of death for those caught up in tragedy is yet to be confirmed.
“We had at least eight confirmed fatalities tonight and scores of individuals that were injured,” Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told reporters.
“The mass casualty incident was triggered at 9.38 this evening.”
The New York Post reports that 11 people were taken to hospital in cardiac arrest, with around 300 treated at a field hospital.
23 people were rushed to a local hospital, including a 10-year-old, with 11 of those hospitalised suffering cardiac arrest.
‘Never been to a concert this chaotic’
One concertgoer told The Sun he and eight friends had managed to get out or the venue safely but saw a woman snap her ankle in the chaos.
“Myself and eight friends made it out safe. Imagine thousands of people pushing you forward – over 50,000 plus people,” the man said.
“I’ve never been to a concert this chaotic. The smaller individuals, under 5ft 4 (1.62m) were like struggling for air … I was holding onto the rail with my buddies, I had it easy. I saw many people cry and scream.”
One concert attendee took to Twitter to blast how event staff handled the incident, claiming the medics were “understaffed and undertrained”.
“I’m disgusted with how things were handled tonight,” wrote one Twitter user.
Authorities said medical staff at the event had been “quickly overwhelmed” by the incident, Fox News reports.
Another attendee wrote on Reddit that people were unable to breathe due to the pushing crowds, with security guards failing to respond to those struggling.
‘People destroyed the VIP security entrance’ earlier that day
Local media also reported earlier incidents of unruly behaviour from concert goers.
According to ABC13, a crowd stormed the perimeter of NRG Park at around 2pm on Friday local time and broke through the security gates and scaled the walls to gain access to the event.
However, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner confirmed this was not linked to the stampede that transpired later.
Reporter Mycah Hatfield shared on Twitter that the earlier group was comprised of “hundreds of people”.
“Hundreds of people destroyed the VIP security entrance, bypassing the checkpoint,” she wrote. “People were trampled. Some were detained.”
This Astroworld concert was supposed to be the third music event held by the rapper. Named after his highly-successful third studio album of the same name, this was the festival’s first time producing a multi-day event. However, after Friday’s events, organisers have cancelled Saturday’s concert
Major acts like SZA, Toro Y Moi, Earth Wind & Fire and Australian band Tame Impala were slated to play at the sold-out event.
Originally published as Desperate crowd’s pleas for help after at least eight die at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival
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