Astroworld festival attendees detail horror moments in crowd surge

Concertgoers are sharing “terrifying” details from inside the festival where eight died, revealing they saw “dead bodies” in the crowd.

Concertgoers from the ill-fated Astroworld Festival have shared details from inside the chaos that left eight dead and hundreds badly injured.

Courtney Spencer, 18, said she could “barely breathe” inside the general admissions area of the concern, describing the “insane, terrifying” experience feeling as a fight for her life.

While another attendee, Joseph Gonzales, described seeing multiple “dead bodies in front of us” while struggling at the front section near the stage.

“It was absolutely insane,” Spencer told the NY Post, recounting how she found herself in “accidental chokeholds” and had to adjust her footing every second to make sure she didn’t fall.

These were the people trying to escape being trapped at #AstroWorldpic.twitter.com/bxjeVNHTAB

— Eric Daniels (@azdaniels) November 6, 2021

She also claimed fellow festivalgoers refused to help anyone who fell to the ground.

“They did not care, they did not help you out if you fell down, it was inhumane how these people were acting except for a very few amount of people.”

Joe Gonzales’ experience near the main stage with his friend Timothy Perez was just as traumatic, witnessing “passed out bodies being held up” in the cramped conditions.

“There were deaths right in front of us,” he told Fox News.

Joe Gonzales and his friend Timothy Perez described seeing 'dead bodies in front of us' during the horror event. Picture: Fox News

Two teenagers among the dead

Police confirmed wo teenagers were among the eight victims who died following a stampeded at the Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas on Friday night.

A 10-year-old was also among the hundreds injured and is said to be in a critical condition in hospital.

Identities of the eight people who lost their lives at US rapper Travis Scott’s concert have not yet been released, but Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Saturday one was 14 and one was 16.

There were also two aged 21, two aged 23 and one 27-year-old – while one person’s age has not been determined.

Only six of the families have been notified according to NBC News.

A further 25 people were taken to hospital, with 13 still admitted and receiving treatment, the report states.

Two of the eight people who lost their lives at US rapper Travis Scott’s concert on Friday have been confirmed as a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old. Picture: Erika Goldring/WireImage

‘Needle spiking’ in crowd before surge

Houston Police Department Chief Troy Finner said officers were alerted to people “going down” at 9.30pm Friday night – but the event wasn’t stopped until 10.10pm.

When “pressed” on the reason for the 40-minute delay by local reporters at Saturday’s press conference, Finner attributed the size and age of the crowd, stating they had to be careful not to incite a riot, Fox News reported.

Authorities investigating the deadly stampede at NRG Park have said it was “way too early” to determine the cause of the crowd surge, but confirmed claims people were “stabbed with a syringe”.

Finner also confirmed a security guard working the festival was attempting to grab or restrain someone during the scuffle when he felt a prick on his neck before losing consciousness.

Medical staff who helped the guard also reported a mark on his skin that aligned with such an event.

It is unclear what substance was being injected in the “needle spiking” cases, but medics administered Narcan – a drug used to revive people who have overdosed on opioids, including fentanyl.

Police have confirmed claims a security guard was stabbed with a syringe as it investigates the cause of the stampede. Picture: Apple Music/ Supplied

‘Pleas for help as crowd compressed’

The incident occurred on Friday night local time, with confronting footage on 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.

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.

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.”

A woman in the crowd scaled a camera platform to beg for help. Picture: TikTok/astroverse007

Rapper ‘distraught’ learning eight fans died

Scott — whose pregnant girlfriend Kylie Jenner was also at the event with their three-year-old daughter Stormi, but was uninjured — posted a heartfelt message on Twitter overnight.

“I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” he said, sending prayers to the families and people impacted by what happened at the Astroworld Festival.

He also pledged to do everything he could to support the community in its healing process and said he was assisting officials with its investigations.

Scott is “beside himself” after learning of the tragedies, with a source close to the star claiming he had “no idea” what was going on in the 50,000 person crowd.

“He’s really upset — he had no idea what was going on, he was on stage performing,” the source told the NY Post.

“He’s beside himself, I’ve never heard him like that. He was in tears.”

Travis Scott said he was ‘absolutely devastated’ after learning eight people died at his Houston concert. Picture: Twitter

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. Neither are believed to have been injured in the incident.

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.

She has since deleted the footage after being slammed by social media users who labelled it “insensitive”.

Jenner posted this photo to Instagram of a trailer backstage with daughter Stormi's name. Picture: Instagram.

In now-deleted footage she also filmed the moment ambulances arrived in the crowd. Picture: Instagram.

‘Scott told security to intervene’

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.”

travis scott telling security to help someone in the crowd #ASTROWORLDFestpic.twitter.com/iq2LW1CQpF

— clea (@CleaSena) November 6, 2021

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 merch line at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival 👀pic.twitter.com/DNXD0ESo8i

— XXL Magazine (@XXL) November 5, 2021

BREAKING: @HarrisCoJudge says 8 people dead at #AstroWorld#khou11pic.twitter.com/5qgkmxHOda

— Zack Tawatari (@zacktKHOU) November 6, 2021

‘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.”

During the crowd surge hundreds of concertgoers were injured. Picture: Twitter.

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.

Festival attendees rush one of the gates at NRG Park earlier in the day. Picture: Twitter.

‘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.

Originally published as Astroworld festival attendees detail horror moments in crowd surge