Astroworld victim Bharti Shahani dies after being declared ‘brain dead’ as Travis Scott concert deaths rise to 9
A YOUNG girl who attended Astroworld has died after being declared “brain dead.” Bharti Shahani, 22, was in critical condition and breathing through a ventilator following the weekend’s festival. However, according to her family’s attorney, she has now passed away. The electronics systems engineering technology student attended the festival with her sister and cousin and lost each […]
A YOUNG girl who attended Astroworld has died after being declared “brain dead.”
Bharti Shahani, 22, was in critical condition and breathing through a ventilator following the weekend’s festival.
However, according to her family’s attorney, she has now passed away.
The electronics systems engineering technology student attended the festival with her sister and cousin and lost each other after the crowd surged to the stage.
“Once we let go of her hand, the next time we saw her, we were in the ER,” said Bharti’s sister Namrata Shahani.
“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,” said Bharti’s father to KTRK.
The lawsuit Bharti’s family filed against Travis and Live Nation accuses the defendants of negligence, gross negligence, and vicarious liability.
Most read in The Sun
The family claims that Bharti underwent physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical disfigurement, and impairment among other things due to the injuries she sustained.
The lawsuit claimed: “[The] Defendants’ negligence amounted to recklessness and indifference to the rights and safety of the Plaintiff and the public.
“[The] Plaintiff’s injuries were a predictable result of the Defendants’ conscious disregard for the safety and security of concertgoers.”
The suit claimed that several emergency vehicles had to drive through the large crowds to treat concertgoers who had suffered serious injuries.
Bharti is now the ninth victim following the festival stampede. The youngest victim was identified as John Hilgert.
John told his classmate Robby Hendrix, 15, on Friday that he wanted to get to the event early so he could get a good spot, according to the Houston Chronicle.
In a statement, Travis said he was “absolutely devastated” by the events that took place.
“My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.”
Travis said he was cooperating with Houston PD and has since promised to pay for the funeral costs of the deceased.
He is also partnering with BetterHelp to give free mental health services to those affected by the tragedy.
Travis Scott and his team issued a statement to The Sun to further his mission of lending as much support as possible to the victims of the Astroworld Festival that left eight people dead and hundreds more injured.
“Over the last week, Travis Scott and his team have been actively exploring routes of connection with each and every family affected by the tragedy through the appropriate liaisons,” the statement reads.
“He is distraught by the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid to them as soon as possible, but wants to remain respectful of each family’s wishes on how they’d best like to be connected.
“To those families who would like to reach out directly to his team, please send an email to the below address where we will have a team on hand to assist. AW21information@gmail.com.”
Around 50,000 fans arrived for the first night of the sold-out, two-day event.
According to Texas officials, the crowd began to “compress towards the front of the stage” at around 9.15pm, sparking panic.
A “mass casualty incident” was declared minutes later at 9:38pm.
It emerged that Travis played for more than 30 minutes after the mass casualty announcement.
The New York Times and The Houston Chronicle report that Travis was still on stage at 10:15pm.
He had briefly stopped the show at 9:42pm, calling for help for a concertgoer who had passed out. He then resumed the show, Insider reports.
It remains unclear how many people were injured but authorities told FOX 26 several people were in need of medical attention.
Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite said the tragedy “all happened all at once”.
He said: “It seemed like it just happened… over the course of just a few minutes.
“Suddenly we had several people down on the ground, experiencing some type of cardiac arrest or some type of medical episode.”
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS