Kylie Jenner speaks out after 8 die at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival

Kylie Jenner has spoken out after at least eight people died and many others were injured, during the opening night of her partner Travis Scott's AstroWorld music festival in Houston, Texas.

The reality star, 24, took to Instagram to share her 'thoughts and prayers' for those who were injured or lost their lives in a crowd surge toward the stage just after 9 pm on Friday (local time).

Kylie 'broken and devastated'

While the exact cause of the crowd surge remains unclear, what resulted has been described as a "mass casualty incident" that saw 17 people taken to hospital, 11 of which were in cardiac arrest.

"Travis and I are broken and devastated. My thoughts and prayers are with all who lost their lives, were injured or affected in anyway by yesterday's events," Kylie, who is pregnant with her second child by Travis, wrote.

The beauty mogul, who attended the show but was reportedly unhurt, went on to state that she was unaware of the tragic events until after the performance ended.

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"I want to make it clear we weren't aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show and in no world would have continued filming or performing."

Kylie is said to have shared several photos and videos, including one allegedly showing an ambulance moving through the audience, during the show.

"I am sending my deepest condolences to all the families during this difficult time and will be praying for the healing of everyone who has been impacted," she added.

Travis speaks out

Rapper Travis earlier released a statement saying he is 'absolutely devastated' by what had occurred on the first night of the two-day event which was attended by some 50,000 fans.

"I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival," Travis wrote on his Twitter account.

"Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life.

"I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support.”

'Mass casualty incident'

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said the huge crowd that had gathered for a performance by rapper Travis Scott began to push towards the front of the stage about 9pm on Friday, causing panic and injuries.

People began to fall unconscious, and the mayhem escalated at NRG Park until 9.38pm when a "mass casualty incident" was triggered, he said.

The fire department transported 17 people to hospitals, and 11 of those transported were in cardiac arrest.

It was not yet clear what caused the disaster and Houston Police Chief Troy Finner has urged people not to speculate.

"I think it's very important that none of us speculate. Nobody has all the answers tonight," Finner said.

"If you don't have facts, if you don't have evidence, I'm not going to speak against that. We have hurting families out here."

Finner said the organisers and Scott were co-operating with police.

Live Nation, the event organiser, and Astroworld did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"It happened all at once. It seemed like it just happened ... over the course of just a few minutes," Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite said.

"Suddenly we had several people down on the ground, experiencing some type of cardiac arrest or some type of medical episode."

Travis checked on fans in distress

The Houston Chronicle said Scott stopped multiple times during his 75-minute performance when he spotted fans in distress near the front of the stage.

He asked security to make sure they were OK and help them out of the crowd. Emergency vehicles, lights and alarms flashing, cut through the crowds several times.

The fire department said on Twitter that a reunification centre had been set up for families who had not heard from loved ones at the festival.

The Houston Chronicle quoted Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo as calling it an "extremely tragic night."

"(It's) obviously a very extremely tragic night. Our hearts are broken," Harris county judge Lina Hidalgo said.

"Tonight's focus though needs to be on the families and on the lives that we've lost. Many of them extremely young, tragically young."

The second day of the festival has been cancelled.

With additional reporting by Sarah Carty, AAP.

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