At the Astroworld Festival in Houston, Friday night, tragedy struck. Details are still being uncovered, but here's the summary: An influx of people pushed the crowd into itself, killing at most eight and injuring dozens more.
Many horrifying videos have found their way online due to the widespread presence of smartphones on the scene. You may have seen disturbing images and videos on Twitter Saturday if you spent any time there. Tech companies around the globe are having to deal with the fact social media is too instantaneous and that there are very few ways to monitor it.
This story is not about the content or motivations behind those horrendous posts. Instead, we will focus on the reporters at the scene who actually do useful work documenting the chaos and dysfunction that surrounded the tragedy. They may also be helpful in any investigation into the circumstances surrounding it.
This is an example of a show that has clearly gone wrong. As they attempt to battle through a crowd that numbers 50,000, people are seen dancing on emergency vehicles.
Also, you can see footage of concertgoers asking staff, Travis Scott, camera operators and anyone else who might be interested to stop the show. The show continued.
A couple of distraught concertgoers get on the stage and beg a camera operator for help.
Rolling Stone was told by Madeline Eskins that fans were recording the concert, and people performing CPR. "Fans were shouting at the stage crew, saying "stop the concert, people's dying!" Nobody listened."
From the inception of Astroworld, signs of trouble were evident. The event was flooded with people, some of whom also occurred at the event two year prior, injuring three.
