8 dead, scores injured in stampede at jam-packed music concert by American rapper
Houston (PTI): At least eight people have died and scores of others injured in what authorities described as a "mass casualty" incident on the opening night of a popular music festival here in Texas attended by some 50,000 fans of American rapper Travis Scott.
The sold-out concert by Scott at the Astroworld Festival in Houston had to be cancelled immediately after people started falling after the massive crowd began "to compress toward the front of the stage" around 9:00-9:15 PM (local time) on Friday, CNN reported.
Multiple fans were trampled as hundreds rushed the event's perimeter. Once inside, some people began climbing onto portable toilets as security personnel worked to try and contain the crowd, ABC 13 news website reported.
"We had scores of individuals that were injured," Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said during a news conference early on Saturday morning.
"The crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage, and people began to panic," Pena said.
Describing what unfolded as a "mass casualty" incident, the fire chief said that 17 patients were rushed to local hospitals.
More than 300 people were treated at the field hospital set up near the festival, Pena said, adding that the concert drew about 50,000 attendees.
So far, eight people have died and hundreds of others injured during the opening night of the popular weekend music festival, authorities said.
Astroworld organisers did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment early Saturday morning.
Organised by rapper Scott, the third annual festival featuring multiple acts was scheduled to run from Friday through Saturday, according to the event's website.
The view from SkyEye overhead Friday night showed the heavy police and fire department activity in the area of the event as organisers ended it early.
The organisers, rapper Scott and LiveNation, stopped the show when it was apparent that multiple people were hurt, according to Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, ABC 13 reported.
The crowd disregarded metal detectors and security guards who were checking bags. Members of the Houston Police Department's Mounted Patrol Unit were also on scene and worked to contain the chaotic scene.
The event's tickets sold out within an hour of going on sale back in May.
Scott, the popular rapper and organiser, launched the Astroworld Festival in 2018. Like most other large events, it was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the report added.
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Congress protests at Utkal Bhavan over killing of Bengali migrant worker in Odisha
Kolkata (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday staged a protest in front of Utkal Bhavan here against the killing of a migrant worker from Murshidabad district in Odisha, alleging a growing pattern of violence against Bengali-speaking workers across several states.
The demonstration was led by Congress leader Manoj Chakraborty, who said the latest incident in Odisha, where a young man from Murshidabad was allegedly beaten to death, reflected an alarming trend of harassment and attacks on Bengali migrant workers.
Chakraborty claimed that workers from West Bengal were being targeted and "tortured" in states such as Odisha, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, often merely for speaking the Bengali language.
"The workers are forced to leave their homes because there is no livelihood, no jobs, in their areas. When they go outside the state to earn a living, they are attacked for their identity," Chakraborty told reporters during the protest.
Demanding immediate government intervention, the Congress leader said the safety of migrant workers must be ensured through institutional measures. He urged the government to issue official identity cards to all migrant workers at the earliest.
"These identity cards should clearly mention the worker's home district, the local police station and the contact number of a police officer so that they can seek immediate help while working outside the state," he said.
The Congress leader said that such incidents would continue unless concrete steps were taken to protect migrant workers.
A 30-year-old migrant worker from West Bengal was allegedly killed in Odisha's Sambalpur district following an altercation over a bidi recently, police said.
Juel Sheikh was working, along with a few others from West Bengal, in the construction of a building in Shanti Nagar in the Ainthapalli police station area.
They were returning from work when a group of six men stopped them and asked for a bidi. An altercation broke out, leading to a scuffle between the two sides, police said.
Juel was thrashed severely, and he died while undergoing treatment at the Sambalpur hospital. The six accused persons have been arrested by the police.
West Bengal's ruling TMC claimed that Juel was beaten to death over suspicion that he was an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant.
