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Texas A&M student who died after Astroworld is remembered for her generosity, her family says

Family of Astroworld Festival victim Bharti Shahani, 22, mourns at her funeral at the Winford Funeral Home before a service, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Houston. The Texas A&M student was critically injured during a crowd surge while Travis Scott performed at the festival. She eventually died.
Family of Astroworld Festival victim Bharti Shahani, 22, mourns at her funeral at the Winford Funeral Home before a service, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Houston. The Texas A&M student was critically injured during a crowd surge while Travis Scott performed at the festival. She eventually died.

Bharti Shahani was laid to rest on Tuesday after she was fatally injured during Travis Scott鈥檚 Astroworld festival earlier this month. Her family opted to decline an offer from the Houston rapper to cover funeral expenses, according to the family鈥檚 attorney.

Bharti attended the Astroworld festival with her cousin Mohit Bellani, and her sister Namrata Shahani. The three were separated from each other after the crowd surged toward the stage after Travis Scott began his 9 p.m. performance.

Her sister said the two were holding hands when things started to get out of control, and that the last thing Bharti said to her before they were separated was, 鈥渁re you okay?鈥

"I couldn't take care of you that day, eventhoughyou've always taken care of me,鈥 Namrata said. 鈥淚 should have held your hand tighter.鈥

The 22-year-old Texas A&M student was declared dead at 6:50 p.m. Wednesday night after being on a ventilator with no sign of brain activity for days following the festival. died the day of the concert, and 9-year-old died Monday 鈥 bringing the Astroworld death toll to ten.

At the , the family鈥檚 lawyer, James Lassiter, confirmed that Shahani was the woman who was dropped from a gurney in a viral video on social media. One video shared by TMZ shows a seemingly unconscious young woman being transported out of the crowd on an emergency stretcher. The stretcher, which was being passed to Houston police officers, is then dropped. The woman鈥檚 head strikes the ground.

In the days that followed the concert, Scott offered to and mental health services for other concertgoers, as lawsuits against him and concert organizers continued to pile up. Scott had reached out to the Shahani family, but his offer was declined, according to the family鈥檚 attorney.

At the funeral on Tuesday, the family wore white and spoke of Bharti鈥檚 purity. Bellani, who was the first one to see Bharti in the emergency room at Houston Methodist Hospital, said no words could capture the purity of her soul.

During his eulogy, Bellani also apologized for not being able to save Shahani during the concert. Known for generosity, Bellani said he knew his cousin would forgive him.

鈥淚 know she would forgive me in a heartbeat, because Bharti is love,鈥 he said.

After members of her family spoke, the funeral attendees gathered to place flower petals in Bharti鈥檚 casket. Riya Shahani, Bharti鈥檚 youngest sister, compared her sister to a unique flower.

鈥淲hen you go to a flower shop, you always buy the prettiest flowers,鈥 Riya said. 鈥淲ell, it鈥檚 the same with life. God always picks the most amazing and good people to take with him, and you were one of them.鈥
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