Employees at Travis Scott's Astroworld festival were reportedly told to refer to dead festival-goers as "smurfs".

According to an event planning document written by concert organizer Scoremore and obtained by CNN, the Event Operations Plan for the two-day festival at NRG Park in Houston, Texas, told staff to avoid using the terms "dead" or "deceased" on the radio.

They were told instead to use the code world "smurf" when referring to concertgoers, who were thought to have died.

According to Brent Taylor, a spokesperson for the Houston Mayor's office, the use of the word "smurf" in the document is "operational" and he said that he'd heard it being used "secondhand" before, Insider reports.

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A source who knows the 30-year-old rapper told Insider: "Travis' team is not involved in any venue security or emergency planning. The plan was created by a separate group entirely."

The planning document was reportedly drafted before the concert took place on Friday, November 5.

Elsewhere in the document, bomb and terrorist threats were discussed. This section of the document included a black text box with white text and shared with employees the following message written in all caps: "All efforts should be made to not panic spectators. Let event continue if threat is not in their area."

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The deadly crowd surge took place on the opening night of the festival in Texas on Friday, November 5, and saw fans rush towards the front of the stage, resulting in injuries and the deaths of eight people.

Following the tragedy, Scott, who founded the festival, took to Twitter to share a statement voicing his "absolute devastation."

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The 30-year-old 'Love Galore' rapper wrote: "I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.

"Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department, and NRG Park for their immediate response and support."

Featured image credit: Gonzales Photo / Alamy

Astroworld planning doc told staff to call dead concertgoers 'smurfs' and not say 'dead' or 'deceased' on radio