Astroworld staff instructed to refer to dead concertgoers as 'Smurfs,' according to event plan
Astroworld staff were instructed to refer to dead concert-goers as "Smurfs," according to a 56-page security and emergency medical response plan obtained by CNN and authored by Austin, Texas-based concert promoter Scoremore. The wide-ranging document outlines contingencies and instructions for staff responding to different situations at the festival, which ended Friday night with the deaths of eight concert-goers as a result of a deadly crowd surge.
Some 50,000 ticketed fans were on hand to see Friday headliner Travis Scott perform on the festival's first night when thronging fans began trampling and crushing one another. Two teens, ages 14 and 16 died in the ensuing rush.
Another young casualty of the crowd surge was a 9-year-old boy who was severely injured and is currently in a medically induced coma, according to Julian Gill of the Houston Chronicle. The organizer's event operations plan, filed with Harris County for the two-day festival, notes "the potential for multiple alcohol/drug related incidents, possible evacuation needs, and the ever-present threat of a mass casualty situation are identified as key concerns."
One notable section in the document asks staff to use a code word in the event of a traumatic injury resulting in death at the venue. Specifically, security responding to a potential fatality must begin by "notifying Event Control of a suspected deceased victim utilizing the code 'Smurf,'" borrowing from the blue animated children's characters. The document stresses staff should "never use the term 'dead' or 'deceased' over the radio."
https://www.chron.com/culture/article/Travis-Scott-Astroworld-security-Smurfs-16605410.php
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