8 Dead, Nearly 20 Hospitalized at Astroworld Festival in Houston

8 people are dead and nearly 20 have been hospitalized after what is being described as a mass casualty event during Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival at NRG Park in Houston Friday night.

This was confirmed by Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Pena early Saturday morning. He also added that over 20 people were taken to hospitals in the area, and 11 of the individuals reacquired CPR while on the way to said hospitals.

Twenty-three people were transported to area hospitals, with 17 of them hospitalized after the incident. Eleven of those victims were in cardiac arrest during transport.

A report from XXL says that the crowd started to "compress toward the front of the stage" around 9:15 pm.

Authorities realized a mass casualty event was going on around 9:30 pm when they asked Travis Scott to end the show.

Medics were performing CPR on victims once they started to fall out from the crowd. When police realized there was a mass casualty event happening around 9:30 pm, police spoke with the promoters and Live Nation, the festival's organizers, to stop the show early, to which Travis Scott complied.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was also present during the press conference. She stated that some of the individuals transported to the hospital were as young as 10 years old.

At this moment police are conducting an investigation into how and why this took place. Pena also added that at this moment they are awaiting the medical examiner's report for the cause of death.

Astroworld Festival organizers released the following statement on their official Instagram account.

Many attendees of the festival have taken to Twitter to describe the incident that took place at Astroworld Festival. Much of what is described is downright horrendous, to say the least. One person described being pushed up against metal barricades from behind while security couldn't do anything to stop it while another lady passed out and allegedly had her unconscious body surfed through the crowd.

This event was described as a nightmare for many who attended.

Authorities have confirmed that the festival has been canceled for the rest of the weekend. We're offering our thoughts and condolences to all of those who lost their lives and the loved ones affected by this traumatic and horrendous event.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. In the meantime, see the full story here via XXL.