EIGHT people are dead and several injured after a stampede at the opening night of rapper Travis Scott's sold-out Astroworld Festival.

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena told reporters the crowd surged towards the stage while Scott was performing at the third annual Astroworld music festival at NRG Park in Houston on Friday.

About two dozen people were rushed to hospitals and at least 11 people were given CPR, officials confirmed.

Those injured are said to include children "as young as 10".

"The crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage, and people began to panic," Mr Peña said.

"We had at least eight confirmed fatalities tonight and scores of individuals that were injured."

Harrowing footage on social media shows the distressing scenes as paramedics perform CPR on several people in the crowd as a performance continues on the stage.

It remains unclear how many people were injured as of early Saturday morning, but authorities told FOX 26 several people were in need of medical attention.

The show was called off shortly after the horror crush and the second day of the event has also been cancelled, ABC reports.

Heavy fire and police activity could be seen in the area of the event on Friday night.

According to Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, organizers paused the concert when they realised how many people had been hurt.

"At some point, the show was stopped when the crowd was surging," Finner said.

He added that it was too early to determine what caused the crowd surge and the number of deaths.

Astroworld is rapper Travis Scott's music festival and is being attended by a host of celebrities, including Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner.

Tickets sold for $180 for general admission and $490 for 'stargazer' tickets. 

The event sold out its 100,000 tickets within an hour of going on sale in May, ABC 13 reported.

It came after the show was cancelled during the pandemic last year. 

More to follow…

For the latest news on this story keep checking back at Sun Online.

The-sun.com is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sport news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.

Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheUSSun.

Source: Read Full Article