2 days ago
Chilling truth about human crowd crushes revealed
It should never have happened.
But it'll sure as hell happen again.
Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy has thrust the threat of crowd-crushes back onto the world stage.
The new Netflix documentary shines a spotlight on the doomed 2021 Travis Scott concert that turned a celebration into a deathtrap.
At the peak of Scott's performance that night, a sea of 50,000 crowdgoers swelled to the stage.
The horror human crush squeezed 10 people to death. Dozens more were injured.
It was among the worst concert tragedies in US history.
But how does such a catastrophe happen? What can you do to survive it?
And are event planners doing enough to stop it?
Threat of disaster
The University of Melbourne's Dr Milad Haghani is Australia's leading crowd safety expert. For more than a decade, he's been researching how to keep crowds safe.
Dr Haghani tells despite global attention, crowd disasters are on the rise globally.
And without proper precautions, disaster will strike again in Australia.
'The threat of crowd disasters still exists in Australia and any other country that hosts many mass gatherings,' says Dr Milad Haghani.
'The sheer volume of events means the risk is never zero.'
Australia's most recent crowd-related music festival fatality was during a Limp Bizkit set at the Big Day Out in 2001.
Dr Haghani says our track record of rare crowd accidents shouldn't let us become complacent.
'As we've seen globally in cities with no prior history of such incidents like Seoul, disasters can occur when conditions align.'
In 2022, two Australians were among the 150 people who died when they were crammed into a narrow street during Halloween festivities in the South Korean capital.
Dr Haghani also points to near misses in Australia – such as Sydney's 2022 New Year's Eve celebrations.
Footage from that night shows people screaming hysterically as a swelling crowd is sandwiched between a security gate in Sydney's Circular Quay.
In 2016, festival-goers were crushed, left gasping for air and unconscious during a chaotic crowd stampede at the Falls Festival in Victoria.
While it's rare, there's no reason to think history can't repeat itself.
Strong enough to bend steel
So how does it turn deadly?
It's usually not because they're getting trampled.
It's because they can't breathe.
People caught in a crush are squeezed together so hard that they can't get any oxygen. The force of a surging crowd is strong enough to bend steel.
Sometimes, they're facing two fronts: one from the back of the crowd pushing forward and another from the front of the crowd trying to escape.
People lose their footing, causing a pile-on. Then you can add pressure from above to the mix.
While some are pulled under an avalanche of flesh, others climb over them in a desperate effort to survive.
Others are trapped against doors that won't open and fences that won't budge. Usually, they're the ones who don't make it home.
It's literally a deathtrap.
How it happens
Put simply: crowds lose control when they cram into too small a space.
This can result from large crowds surging toward exits during a sudden downpour or hail. Or pressing up against a barrier with such force that people are fatally crushed, as was the case at Astroworld.
No matter how calmly a crowd behaves, it can only fit through a narrow exit at a certain speed.
As to how and when this overcrowding occurs, Dr Haghani says it's a deadly combo.
Recipe for disaster
1. A high-risk crowd. This can be concertgoers under the spell of an irresponsible artist, emotionally charged sporting fans, or NYE revellers rushing to transport.
2. Poor planning. This means crowd safety was not properly researched, monitored or controlled on the ground.
If the crowd is calm, crisis can be averted. But otherwise, it's perfect storm.
'Crowd disasters are rarely the fault of a single person or moment.'
'But when all these gaps align, tragedy can unfold quickly.'
Held to account
When an accident happens that's completely preventable, predictable and avoidable, someone needs to take the rap.
The key promoters of Astroworld were the world's largest live entertainment company Live Nation.
As the promoters of Astroworld, Live Nation were responsible for planning, staffing, securing permits and communicating with local authorities.
So it's no surprise they were hit with a wave of lawsuits after the disaster. Many of these were only settled last year.
But the show must go on. Or at least, it has.
Since then, the pair has continued to rule the industry. Travis Scott's record-breaking Circus Maximus tour (promoted by Live Nation) is now the highest selling tour by a solo rapper.
It's raked in nearly $320 million and sold 1.7 million tickets. Live Nation has now has a stranglehold on the Australian music industry.
So they must have learned their lesson?
Dr Haghani isn't so sure.
'When an organisation experiences a catastrophic failure, the expectation is typically that they'll become more safety-conscious in the aftermath,' he said.
'That would be the reasonable expectation for a company like Live Nation post-Astroworld.
'But whether that's actually happened in practice is something I can't speak to with confidence.'
Haghani speaks to the culture of crowd chaos that seems to be celebrated by the company in the documentary.
'It's seen as part of the product, not a problem. That's deeply concerning.'
Survival instincts
Dr Haghani has one rule for people at big events: trust your gut.
'Many concertgoers assume that because an event is authorised and underway, they must be safe.'
'Even when something feels off, there's often a misplaced trust that someone else is in control.'
'You should do your own personal assessment to the best of your ability and act around the perceived level of risk.'
There are subtle warning signs. If a crowd is moving, then suddenly slows, that's a red flag that density is getting dangerous.
If you hear sounds of distress, it's another warning that things are getting out of control.
When the crowd stops moving, stay on your feet. Keep your arms from being stuck by your side. Protect your chest. Conserve oxygen.
If you drop your phone or any other item, don't pick it up. Once you bend down, you probably won't make it back up.
If you fall or trip, try your best to find your feet. If you can't, your best chance of surviving is trying to protect your head.
'This can be literally life-saving, especially when external layers of safety protection fail.'
