Travis Scott sued by family of nine-year-old left 'fighting for life' after Astroworld crowd surge

Travis Scott and Astroworld organisers are being sued by the family of a nine-year-old boy who is in a medically-induced coma after being "catastrophically injured" in a fatal stampede at the festival.

Ezra Blount is currently on life support after suffering "life-altering trauma", including injuries to his brain, liver and kidney, after being "trampled" by the crowd with his dad during Scott's live set, said lawyers.

Attorney Ben Crump, alongside co-counsel Alex and Bob Hilliard, said in a statement: "This little boy is currently fighting for his life, and his parents will never know the same child they entered Astroworld with."

They accuse organisers and the rapper of failing to stop his performance "until over 40 minutes after city officials said the 'mass casualty event' had begun".

Ezra's grandfather, Bernon Blount, said he and his family "want there to be accountability and transparency" as investigators examine what led to the deaths of eight people and the injuries of many more.

"They were expecting to have a good time with each other, bond as father and son. And it turned into a tragic event" - Bernon Blount, grandfather of victim Ezra

Bernon said: "I'm angry because this has altered our family, this has altered Ezra, it's altered even the legacy of our family because we don't know if Ezra is going to recover from this."

"This could have been avoided if people in positions of power had done the right thing," he added.

Ezra and his father Treston went to the concert together on Friday night to enjoy the Sicko Mode rapper's show and some father-son bonding time, said the grandfather. But the two got caught in the fatal crowd surge after Scott took the stage, causing Treston to pass out "from the pressure being applied to him", and Ezra to fall to the ground, said Bernon.

When Treston regained consciousness, Ezra had disappeared. Bernon received a "frantic" call from his son at 4am saying he could not find his little boy.

Bernon explained: "My wife got on the telephone and called around to every hospital until we located him... he was listed as a John Doe. So, the hospital really didn't know who he was, but we knew he was missing."

The grandfather said Ezra's condition has not changed much since he was taken in with severe injuries that night.

The family's lawsuit alleges negligence in a great number of aspects, including crowd control, failure to provide proper medical attention, hiring, training, supervision, and retention.

"They were expecting to come and have a good time with each other, bond as father and son," said Bernon.

"And it turned into a tragic event because of the negligence of others.

"His condition hasn't really changed. He still has injured organs, heart, liver, the lungs, the brain"

"We just want there to be accountability and transparency of who did what and why they didn't do their job to keep - not just my grandson safe or my son's life - but other members of the community safe, and even visitors from out of town who came to Houston to see the concert."

The family have also started a GoFundMe account, which had collected more than $15,000 (more than £11,000) by Tuesday afternoon.

The tragedy unfolded on Friday at Astroworld, a two-day event in Houston, Texas, with an estimated 50,000 people in attendance - the second day of the festival has been cancelled. When Scott emerged on stage, the crowd pushed forward and people started to get crushed.

A 14 and 16-year-old were among eight people who died.

Mayor Sylvester Turner said the victims are aged 14, 16, two 21-year-olds, two 23-year-olds, 27 and the age of the eighth victim is unknown. He said 25 people were taken to hospital, and 13 people are still in hospital, including five under the age of 18.

Scott said he was "absolutely devastated by what took place last night". He pledged to give Houston police department his "total support" and work "together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need”.

But many of the victims' families have said Scott should be held accountable for the events that took place at his concert, as it emerged safety concerns had been aired beforehand, including from Houston's police chief.