Astroworld concert-goer Bharti Shahani, 22, declared brain dead after crowd surge

Texas A&M student has shown no brain activity while on a life saving ventilator, family say

Bharti Shahani attended the Travis Scott festival with her sister and cousin but got separated from them in the crush (ABC13/Bharti Shahani)

A 22-year-old Texas student who was caught in the deadly crush at Astroworld Festival has been declared brain dead, according to reports.

Bharti Shahani, a computer programming student at Texas A&M University, was placed on a ventilator after her brain was deprived of oxygen and she suffered multiple heart attacks in the deadly crush at Astroworld Festival last Friday.

Doctors have told her family that she had shown no brain activity and that her chances of survival are “nothing”, her devastated father told ABC13 on Tuesday.

She remained in the ICU at Houston Methodist Hospital on Monday evening – and her family said that a decision would be made about what to do next.

Ms Shahani had gone to Travis Scott’s concert on Friday night with her sister Namrata Shahani and her cousin Mohit Bellani but they all became separated from each other in the chaos.

While her sister and cousin both survived, Ms Shahani was rushed to hospital with medics performing CPR on her on the way.

Namrata Shahani and Mr Bellani told ABC13 about the terrifying ordeal as “a sinkhole” appeared to open up in the crowd with “layers of bodies” piled on top of one another.

“Once one person fell, people started toppling like dominos. It was like a sinkhole. People were falling on top of each other,” said Mr Bellani.

“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.”

Both Mr Bellani and Namrata Shahani lost their cellphones in the chaos and were unable to reach out to Ms Shahani after they escaped the crush.

They later learned that she had been rushed by ambulance to hospital.

“Once we let go of her hand, the next time we saw her, we were in the ER,” Namrata Shahani said.

Mr Bellani said his cousin had been deprived of oxygen for several minutes on end which caused her brain to swell and she suffered multiple heart attacks.

“I think she lost oxygen for 10 minutes one time and seven minutes at another time,” he said.

“So her brain stem was swollen to like 90 per cent almost.”

Bharti Shahani is pictured in ICU in a Texas hospital after suffering multiple heart attacks and her brain being starved of oxygen (ABC13/ Bharti Shahani)

Ms Shahani’s father Sunny Shahani told the outlet he and his wife rushed to NRG stadium when they heard about the tragedy at the festival before visiting several hospitals until they found their daughter.

His 22-year-old daughter was bleeding and on a ventilator, he said.

Ms Shahani was due to graduate in the new year and had dreams of taking over the family business, he said.

The 22-year-old is one of at least six festival-goers still in hospital on Monday, five of them are in intensive care.

One of the other casualties fighting for their lives is Ezra Blount, a nine-year-old boy from Dallas who had gone to see his “favorite artist” Travis Scott with his father.

The boy’s grandfather Bernon Blount told CNN Ezra had been on his father’s shoulders but fell when his dad passed out in crush.

The little boy has been placed into a medically-induced coma to try to overcome the trauma to his brain, he said.

The tragedy unfolded soon after 9pm when headline performer and Astroworld organiser Mr Scott took to the stage.

The crowd surged causing fans to be crushed and trampled in the chaos.

Criminal investigations are now underway into what led to the deadly crush and how it was handled.

It has emerged that Mr Scott continued to perform for almost another 40 minutes after a “mass casualty event” was declared by officials on the scene.

Several social media videos and witness accounts have also revealed fans were trying to alert security and event organisers to the unfolding tragedy but appeared to be ignored.

Mr Scott and the event promoter Live Nation are facing at least 18 lawsuits from survivors and victims’ families.