Bharti Shanani, a 22-year-old college senior at Texas A&M University, died on Wednesday, November 10th, after being injured in the fatal crowd surge at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival.
Tragedy unfurled on the first night of Astroworld, which saw at least 50,000 people flock to NRG Park in Houston, Texas. Minutes into Travis Scott’s headlining set, a deadly crowd surge ensued.
Nine people, whose ages range from 14 to 27, died in what officials are calling a “mass casualty incident.” The surge saw hundreds of others injured, with officials transporting 17 people to hospitals — 11 of which were in cardiac arrest.
Bharti Shahani was one of the 17 people hospitalized after attending Astroworld on Friday, November 15th. Shahani attended the event with her sister Namrata Shahani and cousin Mohit Bellani. the three lost each other when the crowd surge began, and after losing their phones, were unable to find each other: “Once we let go of her hand, the next time we saw her, we were in the ER,” Namrata Shahani said.
Paramedics took Shahani to Houston Methodist Hospital, performing CPR in the ambulance on the way there.
On Tuesday, November 9th, Shahani showed no signs of brain activity and had been placed on a ventilator. She reportedly suffered multiple heart attacks, with her cousin, Bellani saying, “I think she lost oxygen for 10 minutes one time and seven minutes at another time. So her brain stem was swollen to like 90 percent almost.”
Bharti Shahani died on Wednesday, attorney James Lassiter said during a news conference. A medical examiner is currently investigating the cause of death.
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“She was like an angel to us,” Shahani’s father, Bhagu “Sunny” Shahani, said during the press conference. “She was the head of the family, she was a very nice girl. Always calm, always listened. She had a bright future. Only thing I’ll request, to the Houstonians, to please, please make sure that she gets justice. And I don’t want somebody else’s daughter to go like this.”
Shahani was set to graduate from Texas A&M in spring 2022 with a degree in electronics systems engineering. She had a summer internship secured for next year, and was preparing to take over the family business. Her family has set up a GoFundMe to cover medical and other expenses, which you can donate to here.
Shahani is the ninth person to have died from the Astroworld crowd surge. Houston Authorities are investigating the incident, whilst festival organisers, Travis Scott, Live Nation, and others have been named defendants in several lawsuits.
Travis Scott has release two statements in the wake of the tragedy, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” Scott wrote. “My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.” He has promised to refund all attendees of Astroworld, and cover the funeral costs for those that have died.
