Taylor Swift postpones Rio de Janeiro concert after fan dies from Brazilian heat wave

Pop star and musical sensation Taylor Swift postponed a concert she was scheduled to perform in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, after one her fans died just before she was set to perform on Friday.

The decision came after thousands of fans already arrived at the stadium where she was scheduled to perform as part of her record-breaking Eras tour. 

But the 33-year old American pop star said the safety and well-being of her fans was the most important thing to her.

“The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers and crew has to and always will come first,” she said in an Instagram post.

The Swift tragedy comes amid an unprecedented, scorching heatwave in Brazil, which has triggered health alerts and kept the country on edge.

Authorities warned that the heat could cause serious health risks and even result in death. Meteorologists have said that with the humidity, the temperatures of about 100 feel as hot as 138 degrees.

Swift’s Monday show is still scheduled. 

In a statement on Instagram, she said she was “devastated” over the Brazilian girl’s death that her heart was "shattered," adding: “She was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”

“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,” she wrote. “I can't even tell you how devastated I am by this.”

The fan, Ana Clara Benevides Machado, who was only 23 was not feeling well and asked for help after she arrived at the stadium. She was brought to a nearby hospital for treatment, but died only an hour later.

According to Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, the cause of death was a cardiorespiratory arrest.

Swift said she could not talk about the incident on stage because she felt “overwhelmed by grief … I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends."

She said the tragedy was "the last thing" she expected when she brought the tour to Brazil, and ensure that her stadium staff gave water to fans during her show.

During her performance of “All Too Well,” she even threw a bottle of water into the crowd.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes tweeted that what happened was unacceptable and asked the show's producers to distribute extra water and offer more emergency services.

Brazil's Justice Minister Flávio Dino ordered the company organizing the Eras Tour in Brazil, T4F Entertainment, to offer fans with free drinking water and said that stadium officials needed to allow fans to take their own water bottles to the concert. 

The minister's statement came after concert-goers were banned from taking their own water bottles.