Man who attended Taylor Swift concert where fan died shares his harrowing experience

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By Asiya Ali

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A fan who attended Taylor Swift's Rio De Janeiro concert where a woman tragically died has shared a harrowing first-hand account.

As previously reported, Ana Clara Benevides sadly passed away after arriving at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Friday (November 17) for the South American leg of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

Fohla De Sao Paolo initially reported that the 23-year-old initially passed out before being treated at the venue by medical staff. She was later transported to a nearby hospital where she died. Her cousin, Estela Benevides, added that Benevides ultimately died due to cardiorespiratory arrest, though no official cause of death has been disclosed yet.

Upon finding out the news of the tragedy, the 33-year-old pop superstar took to her Instagram Stories to share a heartbreaking statement expressing her devastation.

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Credit: Taylor Swift's Instagram Story

"I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this. I can’t believe that I’m writing these words, but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show," she penned. "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."

The star went on to say that she was going to refrain from talking about the incident, before sending love to the fan's family and friends. "This is the last thing I thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil," Swift concluded.

It's believed that the concert took place amid a record-breaking heatwave in Rio de Janeiro, with stadium temperatures soaring to a heat index of 138 degrees Fahrenheit, with some concert-goers even having to be treated for second-degree burns.

Now, a concertgoer named Derick Reliea - who attended the same show as Benevides - shared a ten-minute video on TikTok of his version of events.

Check out Derick's video below:

"I had a heatstroke at the Taylor Swift concert at Rio De Janeiro concert on Friday, and now that I see that Ana Benevides' father is looking to investigate the situation, I think that it's important to share my story and shed some light into how the venue has [handled] medical emergencies on that day," Derick began.

He goes on to recall not being allowed to bring any water into the stadium despite the sweltering conditions. Eventually, he was forced to throw away the bottles before entering the venue.

However, Derick and thousands of other fans were quickly dehydrated once inside. "I was desperately in need of water pretty quickly because it’s such a hot day and after running so much I was sweating intensely, and also we’re just in a crowd of people in this insane heat," he explained.

"I think they said 40 degrees Celsius [104F], but the atmosphere felt closer to 60 degrees Celsius [140F]," he added.

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Credit: Buda Mendes/TAS23 / Getty

The fan went on to claim that security guards were "ignoring" him when he asked for some water. As he was near the front of the stage at the time and, without any water, he began to "freak out" and thought he was going to faint.

Eventually, Derick had to leave the concert after deciding that "this isn’t worth [his] life," so with the help of fellow attendees, he made it over the barricade and was accompanied by a security guard who took him to one of the vendors to get water.

The fan said that he was "barely vocal" at this point due to being so hydrated so he ended up having to buy a bottle of water for $8, which he remarks was "an insane amount of price-gouging".

"The purpose of the story, really, is that my life was not safe there at that concert," he went on to say. "I was undergoing a medical emergency and their only concern was price-gouging me for water."

"It kills me to know that the same people [who] were handling me were responsible for [Benevides's] life," he concluded.

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Taylor Swift in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Credit: Buda Mendes/TAS23 / Getty

A police investigation has been launched in Rio de Janeiro, targeting Time4Fun, the Brazilian company responsible for organizing the 'Bad Blood' musician's recent shows in the city.

The move comes in the wake of a tragic incident where a fan lost her life, and numerous attendees reported unbearable conditions during the Eras Tour. The Civil Police Department of Rio de Janeiro's consumer delegations department has launched an inquiry, focusing on the potential "endangerment of the life and health" of concertgoers.

A spokesperson for the Civil Police Department of Rio de Janeiro disclosed that event organizers would be summoned to provide testimony, and further investigative steps are underway, per NBC News.

Time4Fun, the company in question, has not yet responded to requests for comment. However, CEO Serafim Abreu shared a video and expressed the company's apologies to those who had a less than satisfactory experience.

Featured image credit: Buda Mendes/TAS23 / Getty