Taylor Swift fan died of heat exhaustion attending Brazil concert, forensics report says
The cause of death has been revealed for a Taylor Swift fan who died at one of the singer’s November concerts in Rio de Janeiro.
Ana Clara Benevides Machado, a 23-year old psychology student, died of heat exhaustion, a forensics report obtained by the Associated Press revealed Wednesday. Rio’s Forensic Medical Institute said heat exposure led to cardio-respiratory arrest and that Benevides did not have pre-existing conditions or substance abuse that could have led to her death.
The report also said that Benevides had “serious compromise of her lungs and sudden death” due to the heat.
The night of Nov. 17, Swift announced in a since-expired Instagram story that her team had “lost a fan earlier tonight before my show.” Swift, “devastated” by the death, said she felt overwhelmed by grief and said her heart goes out to Benevides’ family and friends. The singer also played Rio concerts on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20.
A 23-year old student died at the Swift concert as the heat index reached a reported 140 degrees. Fans were not permitted to bring water into the stadium.
“This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil,” she continued.
Swift’s Eras tour stops in Brazil came amid a record-breaking heat wave for the country. According to Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, the heat index — a measure combining temperature and humidity — at the Estàdio Nilton Santos reached 140 degrees, causing 1,000 fans to faint, according an unofficial firefighter count. Videos from the concert showed Swift pausing the show twice to get more water bottles into the crowd. She also threw bottles from the stage to distressed fans herself.
More than 60,000 concertgoers were in attendance, and the venue had prohibited fans from bringing water bottles inside. Amid soaring temperatures that week, Rio’s heat index hit 137 degrees, the highest in the city’s history.
Taylor Swift postponed her Saturday show in Brazil amid heat wave in Rio de Janeiro. One of Swift’s fans died at her concert on Friday night after passing out.
Benevides was given 40 minutes of CPR on site before being taken to a hospital, where she died, her friend Thiago Fernandes told Folha de S. Paulo. The concert’s organizer, Time for Fun, corroborated Fernandes’ account in an Instagram post and added that Benevides died after receiving emergency medical attention for an hour.
After Benevides’ death, Swift fans organized an online petition to create a law that would provide free water at all venues in Brazil. Flávio Dino, Brazil’s minister of Justice, also responded to the incident, tweeting that personal water bottles would be allowed into concert venues and promoters hosting shows with “high heat exposure” must provide accessible and free water stations inside venues.
The office of Rio’s public prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation into Benevides’ death, the Associated Press reported. Rio police also released a statement on Wednesday noting that “representatives of the company organizing the event will be called to testify” after the forensics report is analyzed.
Taylor Swift met with the family of the 23-year-old Brazilian fan who died at her tour’s first show in the country amid an intense heat wave.
Swift met five of Benevides’ family members at the Allianz Parque in São Paulo in late November. She invited the family to her show, covered travel expenses and made a donation to her fan’s parents. The Grammy winner also posed for photos with the family members, who wore matching shirts depicting Benevides’ face.
Swift’s Eras tour will resume in the new year with several shows in Tokyo from Feb. 7 to Feb. 10. She will then take her career-spanning show to Australia, Singapore and several European countries before returning to the United States in the fall for concerts in Miami, New Orleans and Indianapolis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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