The father of Ana Clara Benevides Machado, a 23-year-old fan who died after falling ill at a Taylor Swift concert in Brazil, is speaking out about the tragedy.
"I lost my only daughter, a happy, intelligent girl," Weiny Machado told local outlet Folha de S.Paulo in an interview translated from Portuguese to English. "She was about to graduate in psychology next April, saving money. I have no words to express my pain. She left home to fulfill a dream and came back dead."
Machado added that he was seeking more information on the incident and what transpired that night.
"I want it to be determined whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance," he continued. "I know that the singer was handing out water to her fans, and that is absurd for an event of this size. Nothing will bring my daughter back, but I hope that, if negligence is confirmed, someone will be punished, so that this doesn't happen to anyone else."
Ana Clara was attending Taylor's Eras Tour concert at Nilton Santos Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 17 when she began feeling unwell, according to the event organizer T4F (Time for Fun).
In a statement, T4F noted that she was "promptly" attended to by first responders, with her "being taken to the medical center at the Nilton Saltos Stadium for first aid protocol," according to E! News.
"Given the situation," the statement continued, "the medical team chose to transfer her to Salgado Filho Hospital, where, after almost an hour of emergency care, she unfortunately died. To the family and friends of Ana Clara Benevides Machado, our sincere condolences."
Local outlet G1 reported that the Rio Municipal Health Department disclosed Ana Clara experienced a cardiorespiratory arrest. The cause of death is pending certification by the Instituto Médico Legal (IML) and has not been disclosed yet.
ABC News obtained a video showing the 12-time Grammy winner directing stage crews to provide water to audience members during the event.
"It's just very hot," she said at one point, "so if somebody says they need water when it's this hot, they really need it."
Further, Swift announced that her Nov. 18 show was postponed "due to the extreme temperatures in Rio," writing, "The safety and well being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first."
The singer released a statement expressing grief upon hearing of Ana Clara's death.
"I can't believe I'm writing these words but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show," Swift wrote on Instagram Stories Nov. 17. "I can't even tell you how devastated I am by this. There's very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.
"I'm not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it," she continued. "I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends. This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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