Story at a glance
- A 22-year-old woman who was injured during the crowd surge at the Astroworld Festival on Friday has been declared brain dead.
- Bharti Shahani has been in critical condition and on a ventilator since she was caught in the stampede at the concert.
- Following the crowd surge, eight people died, 25 were hospitalized and over 300 were injured and treated at the scene.
A 22-year-old woman who was injured during the crowd surge at the Astroworld Festival on Friday has been declared brain dead, her family told ABC13.
Bharti Shahani has been in critical condition and on a ventilator since she was caught in the stampede at the concert, which she attended with her sister and her cousin.
“Once one person fell, people started toppling like dominos. It was like a sinkhole. People were falling on top of each other,” her cousin, Mohit Bellani 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.”
Since the stampede, her family says Shahani has suffered multiple heart attacks.
“I think she lost oxygen for 10 minutes one time and seven minutes at another time,” Bellani explained. “So her brain stem was swollen to like 90 percent almost.”
The family hasn’t made any decisions on what to do next, but Shahani’s sister created a GoFundMe to help cover the mounting medical expenses.
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The tragedy occurred Friday night as concertgoers pushed and stampeded toward the stage during Scott’s set, leaving eight dead. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told The Independent that the ages of the eight victims who died ranged from 14 to 27 years old.
In addition to those who died, 25 were hospitalized and over 300 were injured and treated at the scene.
“I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” Scott tweeted on Saturday. “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.”
Scott has offered to cover the funeral expenses of those who died.
Several concertgoers and families of those who were injured or who died have filed lawsuits against Scott. Scott hasn’t commented on the lawsuits at this time.
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