Astroworld death toll rises to nine after Bharti Shahani dies
11 November 2021, 15:01
Travis Scott makes statement after tragic deaths at Astroworld Festival
"The doctors, they say the chances of survival are nothing."
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UPDATE: On Thursday (Nov 11), it was revealed that Bharti Shahani had died, making her the ninth victim of the Astroworld tragedy. A rep for her family told TMZ that they want justice for Bharti and for whoever failed to provide a safe environment for the people attending the concert to be held accountable.
Astroworld concert-goer Bharti Shahani has been declared brain dead as a result of the catastrophic crowd surge that left eight people dead.
On Friday (Nov 5), eight people tragically lost their lives at Travis Scott's music event in Houston, Texas, with the youngest being only 14 years old. Hundreds more were injured after a stampede in the crowd, including nine-year-old Ezra Blount, who sustained severe damage to his liver, kidney and brain as a result of being "kicked, stepped on, and trampled".
Sadly, Bharti was one of the many concert-goers who has been left with life-changing injuries. The Texas A&M University student was at the event with her sister Namrata Shahani and her cousin Mohit Bellani. However, the trio became separated from each other during the crowd surge.
"Once one person fell, people started toppling like dominos. It was like a sinkhole. People were falling on top of each other," Mohit told ABC13. "There were like layers of bodies on the ground, like two people thick. We were fighting to come up to the top and breathe to stay alive."
Bharti's sister and cousin both emerged from the festival relatively unscathed, but having lost their phones in the chaos they were unable to contact Bharti. "Once we let go of her hand, the next time we saw her, we were in the ER," Namrata said.
It later emerged that Bharti had been rushed to hospital. Paramedics performed CPR on her after she suffered multiple heart attacks. Bharti also had to be placed on a ventilator after her brain was deprived of oxygen.
Doctors have told Bharti's family that she has shown no brain activity and that there is little chance of her surviving. As of Tuesday, she is on a ventilator at Houston Methodist Hospital and her family are making a decision on what to do next.
"The doctors, they say the chances of survival are nothing, which I have not even spoken to my wife until now. We keep saying we'll pray. I request all of Houston to pray for her. Maybe the prayers might work as a miracle for her." Bharti's father Sunny Shahani said.
"I want people to understand what we experienced and to make sure nothing like this ever, ever happens to anyone ever again."
Bharti's sister has set up a GoFundMe to cover their expenses. You can donate here.
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