Taylor Swift Fan Dies at Concert Held in Record Heat

A criminal investigation has begun into the death Friday of a fan attending a Taylor Swift concert held in extreme heat in Rio de Janeiro, and the performer canceled her concert scheduled for Saturday night. The show's organizers said in a statement that Ana Clara Benevides Machado was brought to the first aid center at Nilton Santos Stadium after saying she didn't feel well, the Washington Post reports. The 23-year-old then was taken to a hospital, where she died. The nation's Ministry of Culture said Benevides suffered cardiorespiratory arrest, but an official cause of death was not released.

Most of Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, has had record heat this week, per the AP. The actual temperature topped 102 degrees, but the apparent temperature, a combination of temperature and humidity, reached 138 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday morning in the city—the highest ever recorded. Concertgoers later said they nonetheless were not allowed to bring water bottles into the stadium, and fans' videos showed Swift stopping the performance more than once to ask that fans be brought water, per People. "There's people that need water, right here," she said, pointing to a spot where fans seemed to be waving empty water bottles. One woman said she saw people "looking distressed" while others were "yelling for water." A friend who was with Benevides said they were given water as they waited to enter the stadium.

Swift mourned Benevides on her Instagram story and announced that Saturday's show, the second of three in the city, would be postponed because of the heat. "It's with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show," Swift wrote. "I'm not going to be able to speak about this from the stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it." The prosecutor's office in Rio said a criminal investigation of the death has begun. Benevides, who lived in central Brazil, had taken her first flight ever to attend the concert. Her father, Weiny Machado, had given her a ticket to see Swift, which he said was his daughter's dream. He described Ana as "a happy, smart girl." (A Swift concert in Buenos Aires was canceled a week before.)