Nine-year-old boy among five in ICU after being crushed at Travis Scott gig

The child is suffering from brain swelling and organ damage

A nine-year-old boy is one of five people in the ICU fighting for their lives after being trampled at rapper Travis Scott’s deadly Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas.

Ezra Blount fell from his father’s shoulders on Friday after the man passed out from the crowd pressure of thousands of people. After the boy fell, he was trampled by the crowd.

The boy's organs are reportedly damaged and he is suffering from brain swelling. “He’s still in a critical condition in an induced coma, we are praying and waiting,” the boy's aunt Taylor Gabrielle Blount told The US Sun. “We were told he wasn’t expected to live, but it’s been three days so we’re praying he pulls through. He’s a fighter.”

She said that Ezra’s father Treston Blount had woken up without his son and been terrified about what might have happened to him. Hospital staff did not initially know to contact the Blounts because Ezra was found away from his father.

At least eight people died and hundreds of others were injured after a huge crowd surge on the opening night of the two-day festival. Around 50,000 people were in attendance when part of the crowd began to rush towards the stage during Scott’s performance.

Signs of potential crowd-control issues came earlier in the day, when people were reportedly hopping turnstiles and fences to enter the sold-out festival without tickets – which led to a crowd size that organisers were unprepared for and overwhelming medical units.

The youngest victim has been identified as John Hilgert, 14, a high school freshman and athlete. Other victims include Brianna Rodriguez, a 16-year-old with a passion for dance; Rodolfo Angel Peña, a 23-year-old student and aspiring model who intended to become a border patrol agent; a 27-year-old man who died saving his fiancee; and college students Franco Patino and Jacob Jurinek.

Survivors describe not being able to breathe, passing out, and only managing to stay upright with the help of people around them.

The rapper and the organisers of the Houston festival are facing more than a dozen lawsuits related to the crowd surge. At least two criminal investigations are also underway into the deadly stampede.