Natasha Richardson Reported Brain Swelling Following A Skiing Accident

Actress Natasha Richardson, 45, has reportedly died is reportedly brain dead has reported brain swelling after suffering a serious head injury in Montréal following a skiing accident.

UPDATE: The family held a vigil in New York for Natasha where a family friend told PEOPLE:

“There is no chance. It is a fact that her heart is beating but she is brain dead.”

UPDATE-2: Natasha has passed away.  Her family released the following statement:

“Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”

New details following yesterdays incident have emerged stating she “was accompanied by an experienced ski instructor who immediately called the ski patrol.”

Also a spokesperson from the ski resort says she was walking around and feeling fine for an hour after her accident and even walked to her room on  her own.

Richardson was taking a private ski lesson on the Nansen, a beginners’ run at Mont Tremblant and was not wearing a ski helmet. When she was near the bottom of the run in a section know as the flats, she fell down. According to the spokeswoman, Richardson did not hit anyone or anything before coming to a stop.

About an hour after the fall, Richardson started complaining of headaches. She went to a nearby hospital and was later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of Sacré Coeur Hospital.

The Tony Award winner’s husband, actor Liam Neeson, 56, left the set of a movie he was filming in Toronto to rushed to his wife’s side.

AccessHollywoood.com reports:

“Liam Neeson left the Toronto set immediately to fly to Montreal upon news of his wife’s accident,” a rep for his film Chloe said in a statement to Canadian TV. “We do not have any details at this time but we hope for the best and our thoughts and prayers are with Natasha and Liam and their family.”

Perez writes:

Although public reports have not yet confirmed it, sources close to Richardson’s family and friends tell say they have already been told the awful news: she did not survived the accident, Time Out New York is reporting.

Time Out New York wrongly reports death of Natasha, issues statement saying:

Time Out New York sincerely apologizes for the confusion. We stand by our sources, and our friend of the family first confirmed “dead” and then called back to say “brain dead.” We find the situation incredibly tragic and obviously wish to only report the facts.

We stand by our new statement that she is brain dead and not expected to survive. Unfortunately, the article was not taken down — our website crashed from traffic. Time Out New York regrets the error.

So very sad.

Our hearts are with her family and friends during this difficult time.

photo: Wenn.com