K-pop band NCT 127 forced to end first concert in Indonesia early after 30 people faint in crush

Band members accused of handing out freebies to audience which is said to have led to crush

Members of K-pop music band NCT127 performing in Serpong, Banten province, before the concert was stopped after chaos broke out and 30 people fainted in a crush on 4 Noveber 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

K-pop band N 127 was forced to end their first concert in Indonesia after chaos broke out in the crowd and at least 30 people fainted in a crush on Friday.

The band was performing at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition Centre in Serpong, Banten province on 4 November when police had to stop the show as the crowd began to push each other toward the stage, leading to at least 30 people losing their consciousness in the ensuing crush.

Local reports said that over 8,000 people attended the concert. After more than 2 hours into the show, fans began to push each other to get closer to the stage.

By 9.20pm local time, the chief of police of South Tangerang in Banten province, asked the band to stop the concert.

This comes just weeks after more than 130 people, including at least 40 children, died in the “deadliest” football stadium stampede last month.

Later on Friday, police spokesperson Endra Zulpan said that the concert near the capital, Jakarta, had been going for two hours when fans started surging forward to get closer to the stage.

“Because of it 30 people fainted. To prevent other incidents, we decided to stop the concert,” he added.

He told the media that the fans who collapsed due to the crush recovered without serious injuries.

The K-pop band had allegedly been handing out some freebies to the audience and that is possibly what led to the surge towards the stage.

Some fans were angry with those who ignored others’ safety and pushed each other to move closer to the stage.

Police later gave N 127 permission to perform on Saturday night but warned against distributing any freebies.

In a statement, the concert organiser Dyandra Global Edutainment said on Instagram: “To make amends for [the crush] and give the best experience, we will add more paramedics and security personnel for the Day 2 show.”

Last weekend, police cancelled the third day of the Berdendang Bergoyang music festival, a Jakarta-based music festival, at Central Jakarta’s Istora Senayan indoor arena and its surrounding outdoor areas,  after nearly 30 people fainted because of overcrowding.

Mr Zulpan said at the time: “The capacity is 10,000 but 21,000 people attended [on Saturday]. Police are investigating whether the organisers deliberately printed more tickets than the venue could hold.”