An in depth operations plan for the Astroworld music pageant in Houston didn’t embrace a particular contingency for a surging crowd incident regardless of three folks being trampled and hospitalized on the similar pageant in 2019.
In a 56-page doc obtained by CNN, live performance organizers addressed broad issues in regards to the sold-out, two-day occasion headlined by rapper Travis Scott.
“Primarily based on the location’s structure and quite a few previous experiences, a Safety Plan has been established to assist mitigate potential destructive points inside the scope of the pageant,” the doc states. “The potential for a number of alcohol/drug associated incidents, attainable evacuation wants, and the ever-present menace of a mass casualty scenario are recognized as key issues.”
Among the many situations addressed within the plan are incidents involving an lively shooter, extreme climate, and a attainable riot or civil unrest.
Addressing issues of a big crowd, the plan outlines “the important thing in correctly coping with the sort of state of affairs is correct administration of the gang from the minute the doorways open.” And provides, “Crowd administration methods might be employed to establish doubtlessly harmful crowd habits in its early phases in an effort to forestall a civil disturbance/riot.” These methods aren’t additional specified within the plan.
In November 2019, three folks had been trampled and hospitalized as hundreds rushed to get into the Astroworld Pageant. They had been all despatched to the hospital with leg accidents, and the occasion continued as deliberate.
In one other part, the plan particulars actions to be taken in case of an incident involving fatalities. In keeping with the plan, live performance organizers advise workers to inform Occasion Management utilizing the code “smurf” for a suspected deceased sufferer. “By no means use the time period ‘useless’ or ‘deceased’ over the radio,” the plan states.
Moreover, the plan lays out a transparent chain of command in case of an incident, figuring out the function of the chief producer in addition to the pageant director as the one people with the authority to cease the live performance.
