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In the aftermath of a stampede that left eight people dead at the Astroworld music festival in Houston, many have been comparing the accident to a similar human crush that occurred nearly 42 years earlier.
On December 3, 1979, British rock band The Who was scheduled to perform a leg of their world tour at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Still considered one of the greatest bands of all time, The Who was at the height of their popularity, and fans had sold the arena to capacity, with over 18,000 tickets sold.
However, the night would end in tragedy.
A crowd of general admission ticket holders attempted to squeeze through just two open doors after it was mistakenly believed that the band had begun to play. This led to a stampede in which 11 people died from crush injuries, and at least 26 more were reportedly injured.
After the accident, significant criticism was placed on the method in which general admission audiences were allowed to funnel into stadiums. The city of Cincinnati even banned general admission ticketing events for a period of time, though this rule was later reversed.
Almost 42 years to the day later, the debate over general admission events has re-emerged after eight people died and at least 300 more were hurt attempting to enter NRG Park in Houston for the Astroworld concert.
The event was run by rapper Travis Scott, who himself has previously faced criticism over a lack of safety at some of his concerts. Notably, Rolling Stone reported that a fan had been paralyzed at one of his 2017 shows.
Houston police reports stated that, similarly to The Who's tragedy, a number of fans had run towards the perimeter of the concert venue to secure a spot. When Scott began to perform, chaos ensued as fans rushed the area in an attempt to get closer to the stage.
Despite some fans trying to get Scott's attention, and informing him that people were getting hurt, he continued to play, causing more fans to rush towards the venue. Some people were even seen climbing music equipment to try to escape the area.
While Scott has agreed to give the concertgoers full refunds, critics have doubted whether general admission ticket events such as Astroworld should even be allowed to occur. This includes Fred Wittenbaum, who lost three friends in The Who accident.
"It is a shame that venues, promoters and artists have not learned the lesson of Dec. 3, 1979, as festival seating and concerts are back," Wittenbaum told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "These types of horrific situations will continue to occur until festival seating at concerts are again banned forever."
Astroworld is just the latest in a series of deadly accidents at concerts in recent decades.
In 2011, seven people died and 58 were injured after strong winds blew over a stage at the Indiana State Fair. It was later found that the scaffolding equipment for the stage had not been properly inspected.
One of the most infamous concert accidents occurred in 2003 at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island when a band manager set off onstage pyrotechnics that ignited the building's soundproofing foam.
This caused a quick-moving and massive fire that engulfed the entire building within two minutes. One-hundred people died and over 200 were injured in the inferno.
Newsweek has reached out to The Who's manager for comment.
