“We had scores of individuals that were injured,” Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña during a news conference early Saturday morning.
About 50,000 people were at the sold-out outdoor music festival at NRG Park — the stadium complex where the Astrodome and the NRG Stadium stand — when the incident happened just after 9 p.m. CT, officials said.
“The crowd for whatever reason began to push and surge towards the front of the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed — they were unable to escape that situation,” Peña told CNN Saturday morning.
That sparked panic, and the situation worsened and overwhelmed security personnel there, he said.
“People began to fall out, become unconscious and it created additional panic” and Peña said at the news conference.
More than 300 people were treated at a field hospital set up near the festival, Peña said.
Twenty-three people were taken to hospitals — 11 of whom were in critical condition — and eight of them died, Peña said. One patient was 10 years old, and at last check was in critical condition, Peña told CNN Saturday morning.
Crowd members attempt CPR on the injured
Those who attended the concert shared on social media the chaos that ensued. Medical personnel were so overwhelmed with the injuries that some audience members attempted to administer CPR.
The event’s live stream showed Scott pause his performance to look on in confusion as an ambulance with lights flashing pulled into the venue.
Houston police and event security staff stopped the concert “as soon as the situation got to the point where it was overwhelming the resources there,” but by then “the damage had been done,” Peña said.
Peña said the cause of the surge was not immediately clear.
Investigators will review video of the scene and look at how the venue was laid out and whether it had enough exit points, Peña said.
The investigation will explore “what caused, one, the issue of the crowd surge, and two, what prevented people from being able to escape that situation,” Peña said.
The causes of deaths are pending the medical examiner’s determination, he said.
Saturday’s portion of the planned two-day event is canceled, organizers said.
“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,” the tweet reads.
Astroworld organizers did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment early Saturday morning.
People rushed through gate hours earlier — and 3 were trampled at event two years ago
Earlier in the day, video from CNN affiliate KPRC showed numerous people rushing through a VIP entrance at the event — knocking over metal detectors and sometimes other people, and ignoring security staff.
The video showed some people helping a few others up. Peña said he didn’t know what caused that rush, either.
“We do know that we had people jump the fence,” and at least one person was injured in that afternoon rush, Peña said.
The festival was slated to feature artists including SZA, Bad Bunny and 21 Savage.
Houston mayor offered condolences to the loved ones of those killed.