Travis Scott concert: Witnesses describe being 'unable to breathe' at fatal festival

Eyewitnesses have shared horrific details of the chaos that unfolded at the Texas music event on Friday night while musician Travis Scott was performing on stage

Survivors of the Astroworld Festival tragedy have recounted being unable to breathe while they were being crushed by surging crowds.

Disaster struck at 9pm at the music event in Texas on Friday night which left eight people dead and reportedly hundreds more injured following a stampede in the crowds.

Musician Travis Scott – who shares a daughter with reality star Kylie Jenner who was in attendance at the event – was performing when the disaster unfolded.

Members of the audience stormed towards the front of the stage leading to many requiring emergency hospital treatment and eight – including two teenagers – dead.

Hamad Al Barrak, a 19-year-old festivalgoer, described the terrifying conditions to Reuters, saying: "There were just too many people. We were all pressed together. You felt like you couldn't breathe."

While 43-year-old Albert Merza, who was attending the event with seven friends, recounted seeing "a lot of

drinking and crazy behavior."

He added: “It felt like a riot. There were people throwing out stuff, objects flying everywhere."

While 17-year-old Nick Johnson said there had been disruption throughout the day before disaster struck in the night, saying: "It was going on for over two hours, and it just got worse and worse."

The eyewitness accounts come as 29-year-old Travis appealed for fans to make statements to authorities after the tragedy.

Taking to Instagram Stories on Saturday, he said: “We’ve been working closely with everyone to just try to get to the bottom of this. The city of Houston, HPD fire department, everyone to help us figure this out.

If you have any information, please just contact the local authorities.”

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner has explained that an earlier incident when fans 'rushed' the gates of the festival was brought under control hours before the disaster.

He also stated 528 officers had been assigned to the festival on Friday, along with 755 private security personnel.

While throughout the day, 25 arrests were made – relating to intoxication, marijuana possession and trespassing.

He also revealed during a press conference on Saturday that a security guard had been injected with a drug at some point before the disaster.

He revealed: "One of the narratives was that some individual was injecting other people with drugs.

"We do have a report of a security officer, according to the medical staff that was out and treated him last night.

"He was reaching over to restrain or grab a citizen and he felt a prick in his neck.

"He went unconscious, they administered Narcan. He was revived, and medical staff did notice a prick similar to a prick you would get if somebody was trying to inject."