At least eight people have died and several others were injured after a crowd surge at the Astroworld Festival in the US state of Texas.
Key points:
Nine people have died after a crowd surged at a music festival in Texas
The Astroworld event was called off shortly after the incident
Seventeen people were taken to hospital
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pe?a said the crowd pushed toward the stage just after 9:00pm Friday (local time) while rapper Travis Scott was performing.
"The crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage, and that caused some panic, and it started causing some injuries," Mr Pe?a said.
"People began to fall out, become unconscious, and it created additional panic."
The show was called off shortly after several people began suffering injuries.
Seventeen people were taken to hospital, including 11 who were in cardiac arrest, Mr Pe?a said.
Many people were also treated at the scene at NRG Park, where a field hospital had been set up.
Approximately 50,000 people were in attendance at the festival, Mr Pe?a said.
The fire chief added that officials did not immediately know the causes of death for the eight people who died.
A medical examiner would investigate.
The deceased had not been identified as of early Saturday local time.
Officials set up a reunification centre at a hotel for family members who had not been able to reach relatives in attendance at the festival.
Astroworld is a two-day music festival that was scheduled to take place on Friday and Saturday in Houston.
The event was sold out, according to the Astroworld website.
The event promoters had arranged for medical units to be on scene at the festival, however once the crowd surge began, those units were "quickly overwhelmed," Mr Pe?a said.