Spanish pop star Joana Sainz García was fatally injured when a pyrotechnic device exploded on stage during a performance early Sunday.
Some 1,000 fans were watching the concert at a music festival near Madrid when a device blew up during the light show, eliciting screams from the audience. A projectile struck the 30-year-old performer, and she fell to the stage unconscious, officials said.
A physician and nurse in the audience attempted to help the singer before paramedics arrived, according to El Diario Montanes. She was declared dead at a hospital.
Sainz García, a singer and dancer, was performing with the 15-member Super Hollywood Orchestra group in a town near Madrid at the time. The performers were closing out a four-day festival in Las Berlanas.
El Norte de Castilla obtained video footage of the explosion. It can be seen below.
Note to readers: Be warned ― video is upsetting.
The Prones 1, S.L. agency, the promoter for the Super Hollywood Orchestra, said the pyrotechnics had been used routinely in the past without a problem.
“All our staff, musicians and artists …. express our most heartfelt condolences to [Joana’s] family, partner, and friends for the loss of our colleague,” the agency wrote in a Facebook tribute.
“She always showed exemplary behavior, both personal and artistic, in addition to a great human quality. It’s going to be very difficult for all of us to overcome her absence. We will always remember you, Joana. R.I.P.”
An investigation has been launched, People magazine reported.
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