HAUNTING MESSAGE

How Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival ‘see you on the other side’ message tragically foreshadowed deadly stampede

TRAVIS Scott told festival goers he would see them "on the other side" of his sell-out concert in a message tragically followed by a deadly stampede.

The words were emblazoned in LED lights behind the rapper as he performed on stage at the third annual Astroworld music festival at NRG Park in Houston on Friday.

The event ended in tragedy as eight people were confirmed dead and hundreds said to be injured following a devastating crush in the crowd.

"See ya on the other side" was also featured on merchandise for the gig.

Despite the message written in large neon lights behind him, Scott could not have foreseen the tragedy.

He reportedly stopped a number of times during his 75-minute performance and begged security workers to help as he witnessed the tragedy ensue.

Around 50,000 fans had shown up for the two-day event, which sold out within an hour of tickets going live in May this year.

Officials in Texas said the crowd began to "compress towards the front of the stage" at around 9.15pm, sparking panic.

Addressing a press briefing in the early hours of this morning, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena said: “We had at least eight confirmed fatalities today. We had scores of individuals injured at this event.”

He added that a "mass casualty incident" was triggered at 9.38pm and investigations are ongoing.

Chief Pena told reporters: "At approximately 9.15pm the crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage and that caused some panic and it started causing some injuries.

"People began to fallout, become unconscious, and it created additional panic."

Read our live Astroworld blog for the latest updates.

Officials transported 17 people to hospitals with 11 of them in cardiac arrest.

It is feared hundreds more were injured, including a child as young as 10.

The show was called off shortly after the horror crush and the second day of the event has also been cancelled.

"Our hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight - especially those we lost and their loved ones," organizers of the event wrote on their social media pages.

"We are focused on supporting local officials," they added.

A large number of police and fire fighters were scrambled to the area of the event on Friday night.

Drake had joined Scott on-stage at the concert - which was live-streamed by Apple Music.

The rapper's pregnant girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, was also watching his set - sharing backstage videos and clips of the crowd on Instagram before the tragedy.

There is no suggestion Kylie was injured.

Those who died had not been identified as of early Saturday and a reunification post was set up at the nearby Wyndham Hotel to help families locate their loved ones.

A medical examiner will investigate the cause of deaths at the festival.