SAN FRANCISCO:

Actress Natasha Richardson was reported to be brain dead after a seemingly innocuous fall while skiing on a bunny slope at the Mont Tremblant resort in Canada on March 17.

Richardson’s family declined to comment on her condition and speculation swirled as to her condition. The New York Post quoted friends of the family as saying that she was being transported from a Montreal hospital to New York so that her family and friends could say goodbye before she is taken off life support.

A reporter for the Toronto Star saw Richardson being taken from the hospital on an intensive care bed, heavily wrapped in blankets and with tubes covering her face. According to a spokesperson for the ski resort, Richardson fell during a private lesson on March 16 on a beginners’ slope while not wearing a helmet. She managed to walk back to her room and was laughing and joking. But she was taken to hospital an hour later when she started having headaches. “She did not show any visible sign of injury, but the ski patrol followed strict procedures and brought her back to the bottom of the slope and insisted she should see a doctor,” said a statement from the resort.

Richardson is the wife of actor Liam Neeson, who left a Toronto movie shoot to be at her side in Montreal. —DPA