UPDATE: Travis Scott Denies Responsibility Amid Astroworld Legal Proceedings

At least eight people are dead and several others injured after a crowd surge during Travis Scott's set at the Astroworld Festival in Texas.

At least 23 others have been hospitalised with one victim reportedly as young as 10, while over 300 were provided medical attention across the first day of the annual festival event. 

According to ABC News, the crowd pushed towards the stage just after 9pm causing panic throughout the crowd. 17 people were taken to hospital with many in cardiac arrest. Astroworld's Saturday program has been cancelled while officials have set up a reunification centre at a hotel for family members who have not been able to find loved ones in attendance at the event. 

In a press conference, Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena described the event as a "mass casualty incident" but warned the cause of the surge was currently unclear.

So far eight deaths have been confirmed and multiple people have been injured at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Fest. pic.twitter.com/yDaCZpqdzC

— Rap Alert (Backup) (@rapalert4) November 6, 2021

Over 50,000 people attended the event with artists including SZA, Bad Bunny and 21 Savage backing up feature artist Travis Scott, who was joined by special guest Drake during his set. Scott has previously staged two Astroworld events. The festival was founded for and named after Scott's massive second album of the same name which released in 2018 and featured his global smash hit Sicko Mode. 

UPDATE: Scott has now issued a statement following the events that took place during his performance.

"I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival," he wrote online.

"Houston PD 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."

UPDATE: 08/11/21 14:07pm AEDT

Scott and organisers of the festival are now facing the first of what is predicted to be multiple lawsuits following the incidents over the weekend. According to reports from Billboard, an injured patron has sued the rapper directly as well as ScoreMore and Live Nation - the companies behind the event.

The patron's lawyers are citing the event and the resulting tragedy as “a motivation for profit at the expense of concertgoers’ health and safety” wherein “encouragement of violence" and "fomented dangerous behaviours" were key factors.

The concertgoer is seeking US one million dollars compensation.

UPDATE: 12/11/21 14:02pm AEDT

Another life has unfortunately been lost as a result of the incident, following the death of 22-year-old Bharti Shahani.

The student had spent six days in hospital ICU in a critical condition before succumbing to the sustained injuries overnight.

Shahani's mother, Karishma Shahani, is quoted as saying: “I want my baby back. I won’t be able to live without her. It’s impossible.”

She continued, “The first thing she ever asked for in her life was ‘Mama, can I go to this concert?... Why didn’t I say no to her? Why? Because it was the first thing she asked me for herself.”

Shahani's father, Sunny Shahani, also added: "Please make sure she gets justice and I don’t want somebody else’s daughter to go like this. It was the wrong day and wrong time for her."

The tragedy marks the ninth death related to the disaster, and comes as both Scott and LiveNation reach a total of at least 50 lawsuits against them. 

As well as this, mounting reports of misinformation have begun to circulate online, including numerous conspiracies on social media platform TikTok, as well as false reports of a security guard being "needle spiked" by a patron during the event. This report was originally made by Houston police, who have since backtracked the claim.

UPDATE: 18/11/21 13:10pm AEDT

It’s been revealed that a US$750 million lawsuit has been filed against Travis Scott, Drake and more.

According to NBC News, the lawsuit was submitted on behalf of at least 125 victims, including 21-year-old Axel Acosta, one of the people who died as a result of the crowd crush, and also names Apple Music, who streamed the festival, and more.

It reads: “The victims on that night went to Astroworld for fun. Neither they nor their families were ever warned that they were walking into an extremely dangerous situation.”

The legal development follows tragic news earlier this week that 9-year-old Astroworld attendee Ezra Blount had passed away, marking the 10th death from the festival.

UPDATE: 08/12/21 15:25pm AEDT

Travis Scott is fighting to have multiple lawsuits against him dropped as legal proceedings around last month’s Astroworld tragedy commence.

As reported by People, Scott filed a response to 11 lawsuits against him, requesting that the claims be “dismissed with prejudice”.

The responses also state that Scott and his company, Cactus Jack Records, "generally deny the allegations" against them.

Scott has been named in almost 300 suits following the tragic event which saw 10 people killed and hundreds more injured.

As Rolling Stone reports, Astroworld promoters Live Nation have also denied all the allegations against them.

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