Father of Taylor Swift fan who died before her concert breaks silence
The father of the Taylor Swift fan who died before her concert in Brazil has broken his silence.
Ana Clara Benevides passed away after falling ill at the arena for one of Swift's Brazil shows.
Paramedics attended to the 23-year-old Swiftie at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro, but she died an hour after reaching hospital.
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No cause of death has yet been announced.
The news came as Brazil experienced an unprecedented heatwave, with soaring temperatures prompting numerous health warnings.
following the tragic news of her death, Benevides' father has now given an interview about his late daughter.
Weiny Machado spoke to the Folha de São Paulo newspaper and said: "I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl. She was about to graduate in Psychology next April.
"I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance."
Referencing Swift's efforts to make sure her fans were hydrated, he said: "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."
Swift herself has expressed how devastated she has been by the tragedy.
In a statement released to Instagram on 18 November, the 33-year-old star said: "I can't believe I'm writing these words but it is with shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show.
"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.
"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."
On the night of the concert, Swift could be seen directing staff to hand water out to attendees as the heat climbed to 38 degrees.
In one video shared online, the Anti-Hero singer can be heard saying: There's people that need water right here, maybe 30, 35, 40 feet back.
"So whoever is in charge of giving them that, just make sure that happens. Can I get a signal that you know where they are?"
Topics: Taylor Swift, Music, Celebrity, World News
Ben Thompson