The cause of death of the young Taylor Swift fan who died after falling sick at the singer’s sweltering November Brazil show has been confirmed.
According to a forensics report obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday (27 December), 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides died from “heat exhaustion”.
Benevides was in attendance at Swift’s 17 November concert in Rio de Janeiro when she passed out during the pop star’s second song. She died hours later at a local hospital. Temperatures in the city that day were at about 40 degrees Celsius (105 Fahrenheit).
Fans lined up for hours before the show, and many accused organisers of failing to deliver enough water supplies for the more than 60,000 attending the concert at the Nilton Santos Stadium. They said they were not allowed to take their own water into the stadium.
The report by Rio’s Forensic Medical Institute said Benevides' heat exposure led to a cardiorespiratory arrest. It also said she did not have preexisting conditions or substance abuse that could have led to her death.
The forensics expert who analyzed her body said in the document she had “serious compromise of her lungs and sudden death” due to the heat.
One of Benevides’ friends, who also attended the concert, told local media outlets in November they had been given water while waiting to enter the stadium.
Organisers T4F did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment. CEO Serafim Abreu said in a video days after Benevides’ death the company would change its protocols for events under extreme heat. He also said T4F would offer assistance to her family.
The office of Rio’s public prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation. Rio police said in a statement on Wednesday that after the forensics report is analysed “representatives of the company organizing the event will be called to testify”.
Benevides’ death shook many in Brazil. She had taken her first flight to travel from the country’s center-west region to see her favourite singer.
Her father Weiny Machado, told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S Paulo: “I lost my only daughter, a happy, intelligent girl. She was about to graduate in psychology next April, saving money.”
Calling it his daughter’s “dream” to watch Swift perform live, Machado said: “She left home to fulfill a dream and came back dead.”
In a statement posted on Instagram after Benevides’ death, Swift said she was “devastated” by the news and had been left with a “shattered heart”.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
