American rapper Kanye West tried to walk on water in Armenia in the early hours of 13 April morning after jumping into a lake.

Towards the end of a free concert he was performing in Yerevan, West decided to dive into the city's Swan Lake and dozens of his fans followed suit, causing chaotic scenes.

Before getting himself wet Kanye announced: "Over there, can y'all see me over there? We're going to do something different right now, like, like, like we always do it this time!"

Authorities and West's security quickly moved in to extricate him from the water after fans crowded around him, pushing at least one concert-goer away from the rapper and into the water.

West's wife Kim Kardashian, who is also visiting the country, had promoted the free concert on her Twitter feed and said: "Thousands of people were there! Kanye jumped in swan lake to be closer to the crowd on the other side & so many people jumped in too!"

She added later: "Such an exciting crazy night! So happy I got to rock out with everyone in Armenia on our last night here!!!! #EpicNight #ArmenianPride".

Concert-goers said they hoped the visit by West and his wife, who has Armenian ancestors, would draw attention to the 100th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman soldiers in World War One, which will be commemorated on April 24.

"I think it's very exciting that such global stars as Kim Kardashian and Kanye West came to Armenia and made Armenia a kind of place of interest of all the world and now everyone in the world talk about Armenia genocide. I think it's very important for us," said one unnamed female fan.