‘It was absolutely insane’: Nurse reveals chaos of Astroworld in eye-witness account of crush at Travis Scott gig

An ICU nurse from Houston who attended the Astroworld festival on Friday said she had never seen anything like the “madness” before in her life.

“Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. I work at the ICU, I see people die every week. But it was absolutely insane,” Madeline Eskins, 23, said in an interview with FOX 26 Houston.

At least eight people died and hundreds of others suffered injuries after a huge crowd surge at the festival’s opening night. Around 50,000 people were in attendance when part of the crowd began to rush towards the stage when rapper Travis Scott began his performance.

Ms Eskins said she attended the same event in 2018 and 2019 but this year was different. Narrating the details from the unfortunate incident, the medic said she was “disturbed” and “angry”.

Ms Eskins and her boyfriend were near the front of the stage when the crowd began to surge as Scott started performing. The medic said she felt so cramped that she could not even raise her arm and was getting shoved from every direction.

She passed out due to suffocation and her boyfriend and security officials had to crowd surf her to the other part of the festival.

“I really, truly thought that I was going to get crushed to the point where my trachea was going to get crushed, my chest. I thought I was going to die. I was about to tell my boyfriend to tell my son that I loved him and before I could say anything, I fainted,” she said.

After recovering, she went to help those being brought in for medical support. Ms Eskins said she saw several people performing CPR without checking the pulse. She alleged that many first responders had “little to no experience in this type of situation.”

A disturbing video making rounds on social media shows first-responders dropping a victim on her head.

She said there were not enough medical staff or adequate security to deal with the magnanimity of the crisis. “There was only one stretcher and we were not able to get people out. All we could do is try and keep them awake. Keep them alive to the best of our abilities,” she said.

The medic claimed that Scott continued with his performance despite acknowledging that something was going on in the crowd.

“I am just very angry. Travis acknowledged that something was happening, he acknowledged there was an ambulance, he acknowledged that someone passed out and then just continued the concert,” she added.

John Hilgert, a 14-year-old high school student and athlete has been identified as the youngest victim. Other victims include 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez, 23-year-old Rodolfo Angel Peña who wanted to become a border patrol agent, 27-year-old Mirza Danish Baig who allegedly died while trying to save his fiancee, and college students Franco Patino and Jacob Jurinek.

Scott, 30, issued a statement on Saturday morning, saying: “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened. Houston Police Department has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life".

He added: "I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need".

Scott and the organisers have been sued by an injured concertgoer who termed the event a “predictable and preventable tragedy.” Seeking $1mn in damages, the lawsuit claimed the tragedy was the result of “a motivation for profit at the expense of concertgoers’ health and safety” and the “encouragement of violence.”

A criminal investigation has been launched into the deadly event.