Year in Review: the Astroworld disaster

Ten people dead and dozens injured. That was the outcome of a concert Travis Scott held during the Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas on November 5. The victims were all quite young: between 14 and 27 in age.

After an initial eight casualties and dozens of injured, the Astroworld death count went up to ten in the following week. On Wednesday, November 10, the 22-year-old college student Bharti Shahani passed away from the injuries she sustained at the Travis Scott concert. On the 15th, relatives of the 9-year-old Ezra Blount announced that he had died from the brain trauma he'd suffered in the crowd surge at the Astroworld festival.

In December, a medical examiner would indicate that the initial eight victims died from 'compression asphyxia,' as The Guardian reported. While this generally indicates an accidental death, there is still debate over whether the concert venue and/or Travis Scott are responsible for these casualties.

Travis Scott is a 30-year old rapper from Houston. He's a six-time Grammy Award nominee and winner of one Billboard Music Award. Scott is also the partner of Kylie Jenner and the father of her child (with another on the way).

The rapper is also the founder of the Astroworld Festival, an annual concert held at the NRG Park in Houston. It has featured performances by Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Marilyn Manson and Rosalía.

The Astroworld Festival, founded in 2018, was suspended in 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Unsurprisingly, expectation was running wild in 2021. The 50,000 tickets sold out in half an hour.

It was the first time the festival lasted more than one day. The all-star line-up included SZA, Tame Impala, Bad Bunny, Earth, Wind & Fire, 21 Savage, Baby Keem, Chief Keef, Master P, BIA, Don Toliver, Young Thug and Travis Scott himself.

TV network NBC shared a witness account from a 19-year old concertgoer. "Once Travis Scott came on, I just needed to breathe. But my rib cage was so squished that I couldn’t expand my lungs to catch a breath." The venue was so packed that she passed out.

Two other attendees described it to TV network ABC as "a concert from hell." They saw the frenzy that ensued once Scott took the stage. People were trying to avoid getting trampled.

"People are blaming it on these people [who] are all on drugs," one of the concertgoers said. "I was stone-cold sober the whole time and I could not get out of there."

Some audience members were trying to help out those who got stuck in the crowd surge. Scott Travis noticed fans passing out and cries for help, but he decided to continue his set for 40 minutes.

At least 8 people died during the concert crowd surge, including 2 minors. Two other victims would later pass away. All in all, around 300 were treated at an on-site field hospital, with many taken to nearby medical centers.

Houston Chief of Police Troy Finner announced a criminal investigation to find the people responsible for the tragedy. As of late December, no one has been charged, per The Guardian. "No timetable has been set for when the investigation would be completed," the paper adds.

The rapper and festival founder tweeted his thoughts about the tragedy the next day. "I am absolutely devastated by what took place last night," he declared. "My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival".

Dozens of victims have taken legal actions against Scott and Live Nation, the company that organizes the Astroworld Festival.

CNN reports that one of the lawsuits claims the concertgoer suffered "serious bodily injuries when the uncontrolled crowd at the concert knocked him to the ground and trampled him." The plaintiff demands one million US dollars in compensation.

It was the first of many lawsuits in the past months against Travis Scott and Astroworld. They will have a stronger case if the police investigation reveals there was negligence on the part of the concert organizers.

"Scott’s attorney reached out to the families of the 10 who died, offering to pay for their loved ones’ funeral costs," The Guardian reports. "Several families turned down the offer." The aftermath of the Astroworld disaster is undoubtedly to be continued.