A ninth concertgoer at the Astroworld Festival in Houston has died of injuries suffered in a stampede of fans during a performance by rapper Travis Scott.
Bharti Shahani was a 22-year-old Texas A&M student who has been hospitalized since the festival abruptly ended after the tragedy on Friday, November 5, reports KTRK.
“She was like an angel for us.” Bharti’s father Sunny said during a news conference, according to KHOU11.
“She was everything to me,” her younger sister Namrata said. “We did everything together… she was like a second mother to me.”
Shahani reportedly suffered multiple heart attacks during the stampede, reported Yahoo Entertainment.
The family’s attorney acknowledged a widely circulated video showing a young woman falling off a gurney as they tried to get her out of there is Shahani.
“Once one person fell, people started toppling like dominos. It was like a sinkhole. People were falling on top of each other,” said her cousin Mohit 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.”
The girl’s mother sobbed uncontrollably during the news conference, but managed to express her admiration for her daughter.
“Bharti is love,” said mother Karishma, who was overcome by grief. “Always thinking about everybody – friends, parents, family, her dog Blue.”
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