Hundreds of terrified fans were crushed and almost 50 were injured following a crowd surge at a One Direction concert in Peru.

The band were forced to stop the concert at one point and begged to the crowd to calm down – even threatening to walk off stage –  but their plea fell on deaf ears.

Tents were used as emergency treatment centres at the venue, and a number of fans are reportedly still being treated in hospital.

An evacuation plan was even put in place by the fire service, as security struggled to get the crowd under control.

A video taken inside the stadium at the concert on Sunday shows singer Niall Horan saying to the crowd, “If you don’t want anyone to take us off the stage, make sure you stay back.”

Liam Payne earlier in the day posted a dramatic message as he struggled to understand just how many fans the band has.

He posted a picture of fans gathered outside the hotel, saying, “I will never understand, and you will never understand what this does to somebody …why? no one could deserve this.”