Nearly one week after the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, a 22-year-old college student has died – marking the ninth person killed in the tragedy. The family attorney of the victim announced Thursday that Bharti Shahani, a student at Texas A&M University studying computer science, died at an intensive care unit surrounded by her family around 7 p.m. Wednesday night.
Shahani has two sisters, one of whom was at the festival with her. Her father said at a news conference Thursday: “Now, I am worried about my two daughters and my wife. What will be the impact on them after we lost our precious angel?” Her mother, Karishma, said, “Bharti is love – I won’t be able to live without her. It’s impossible.” Bharti’s younger sister Namrata, who was with her at the festival, said she was holding her sister’s hand before they got separated in the crowd surge. Namrata said her sister was like a second mother to her: “It feels like she meant everything to me. We were always together, always doing things together. The last thing Bharti said to me was, “Are you OK?”
Nine people, including two teenagers, were killed and dozens more were injured during a crowd surge at the Astroworld festival last Friday. The exact cause of death for the other eight victims has not yet been determined, Houston police chief Troy Finner said on Wednesday. A 9-year-old boy remains in critical condition.
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