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A crush of rap music fans pushing toward the stage during Travis Scott's Astroworld festival in Houston killed at least eight people and injured many more as panic rippled through the packed crowd, officials say.

The disaster unfolded at NRG Park at around 9pm on Friday during the headline performance by Scott, a Grammy Award-nominated singer and producer.

As some in the sold-out audience of about 50,000 surged toward the stage, people began to fall unconscious, some apparently suffering cardiac arrest or other medical issues, officials told reporters outside the venue.

Minutes later the chaos was declared a "mass casualty incident."

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

After mobbing entrance gates and merchandise booths early in the day, the crowd grew increasingly unruly as performers took the stage, according to 19-year-old festival goer Hamad Al Barrak.

"There were just too many people,' said Al Barrak, who described chaos as he tried to buy festival gear. "People were up on each other. We were all pressed together. You felt like you couldn't breathe."

Houston-born Scott said he would support the police as they investigate the incident and wanted to help the community heal.

"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," Scott wrote on Twitter. "Love You All."

Scott stopped multiple times during his 75-minute performance when he spotted fans in distress near the stage, video posted online showed.

He asked security to make sure they were safe. Emergency vehicles, lights and alarms flashing, cut through the audience several times.

"We need somebody to help. Somebody passed out right here," Scott said, according to video of his set, which included a guest appearance by Canadian rapper Drake. "Security, somebody, jump in here real quick."

In an interview with CNN, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena described how the crush of fans quickly overwhelmed the private security hired for the festival, a two-day affair that was scheduled to culminate on Saturday. The second day of the event was cancelled.

Authorities transported about 23 people in serious condition to hospitals, 11 of them critical, Pena told CNN. One of the injured was 10 years old. At least eight people succumbed to their injuries, he said, adding that the death toll could rise.

It was not yet clear what caused the disaster. An investigation was underway that is likely to focus on security and safety protocols at the event.

Two weeks ago, organisers of another Houston concert canceled it abruptly after fans pushed through a gate and stormed into a Playboi Carti show being held within the same NRG Park complex.

© RAW 2021

A crush of fans pushing toward the stage during rap star Travis Scott's Astroworld music festival in Houston has killed at least eight people and injured dozens more.

City Police Chief Troy Finner said his department has opened a criminal investigation by homicide and narcotics detectives following unconfirmed reports someone in the audience "was injecting other people with drugs".

The disaster unfolded around 9.30pm local time on Friday during the headline performance by Scott, a Grammy-nominated singer and producer, following what police and members of the crowd described as an escalation of unruly behaviour.

As some in the sold-out audience of about 50,000 surged toward the stage, people began to fall unconscious, some apparently suffering cardiac arrest or other medical issues, officials told reporters outside the venue.

Minutes later the chaos was declared a "mass casualty incident".

"It happened all at once. It seemed like it just happened ... over the course of just a few minutes," said Houston Police's Larry Satterwhite, who was at the front of the event when the situation began.

Satterwhite said he immediately met with promoters and they agreed to halt the show. Officials said the concert was brought to an end by 10.10pm.

Finner said among the "narratives" under review by police were reports suggesting "some individual was injecting other people with drugs".

One report involved a security officer "who felt a prick in his neck" as he was trying to restrain or grab someone and then fell unconscious, only to be revived with a dose of the opioid antidote NARCAN, Finner said, citing an account from medical personnel who treated the officer.

Finner said the medical staff also noticed what appeared to be a needle mark on the officer's neck.

It was not clear whether authorities suspected such an episode played a role in the crowd surge, but Finner said, "we're going to get down to the bottom of it".

City Fire Chief Samuel Pena said it appeared the venue had ample exit routes for fans and none were obstructed.

Twenty-five people were taken to hospitals by ambulance after the crush began, some of them in cardiac arrest, with 13 still hospitalised on Saturday - five under age 18.

Eight people died. Most ranged in age from 14 to 27, though one victim's age was not immediately known.

After mobbing entrance gates and merchandise booths early in the day, the crowd grew increasingly unruly as performers took the stage, according to 19-year-old festival goer Hamad Al Barrak.

"There were just too many people,' said Al Barrak, who described chaos as he tried to buy festival gear. "We were all pressed together. You felt like you couldn't breathe."

Albert Merza, 43, part of a group of eight people from Detroit attending the festival, recounted seeing "a lot of drinking and crazy behaviour".

"It felt like a riot," he said, adding that it appeared about half the crowd were under age 21. "There were people throwing out stuff, objects flying everywhere."

© RAW 2021

Australia is "on track to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world" after fully vaccinating more than 80 per cent of its population, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says.

Mr Morrison announced the "magnificent milestone" on Saturday.

The national double-dose vaccination rate reached 80.2 per cent for people in the over-16 category on Friday, but only three places have actually surpassed 80 per cent.

The ACT (94.8 per cent), NSW (89.7 per cent), and Victoria (84 per cent) prioritised vaccinations in response to the Delta outbreak, but less-affected states are lagging behind the national rate.

WA, which has not recorded a COVID-19 case since October 16, is staging a "super vax weekend" to improve its rate, which is the lowest in the country at 66.2 per cent.

The NT (66.3 per cent), Queensland (66.9 per cent) and SA (69.9 per cent) are also below the national average, while Tasmania is closer with 77.9 per cent fully vaccinated.

From Monday, people who received their second dose more than six months ago are eligible for booster shots, which are not mandatory but provide further protection.

NSW Health began offering boosters at the start of the month but this week they will be available around Australia.

As well as relying on high vaccination rates to reopen the country, rapid antigen testing will also be a factor.

National cabinet agreed on Friday to develop a national framework for the use of rapid tests, which health authorities have been cautious of expanding given PCR swab tests are more reliable.

States and territories are also considering changes to isolation requirements for fully vaccinated people identified as close contacts with a confirmed case, including reducing quarantine requirements to seven days or ditching them altogether.

Casual contacts would only be asked to seek testing and isolate if experiencing symptoms but avoid high-risk settings until they return a negative result.

© AAP 2021