Spanish pop star Joana Sainz Garcia has died after a freak pyrotechnics explosion during her performance.
The 30-year-old singer was in the middle of her performance with the group Super Hollywood Orchestra. They were performing in the small town of Las Berlanas, which is about 80 miles northwest of Madrid.
A pyrotechnic on the stage misfired and shot shards of its metal casing into Garcia’s stomach. According to a group promoter who spoke with the press, “no one could explain what happened.”
The spokesperson said they’ve been doing the same act for over five years. More than 2,000 cartridges of the type that exploded had been used in previous performances, with no issues.
The fireworks used in the show are like sparklers and are supposed to last around 20 seconds. The manufacturer of the sparklers may have filled the pyrotechnic with the wrong material. The error may have caused the device’s metal casing to explode outward.
As you might expect, fans were shocked by the sudden death, though initially, it was unclear what was happening. Pretty quickly, however, the music stopped while emergency responders jumped on stage.
Some fans attending the festival recorded footage of the event (see below). In the footage, you can hear a loud explosion and see Sainz drop to the floor. At least one doctor and four nurses in the audience attempted to respond to the injury.
Sainz was rushed to a nearby local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Around 1,000 people were in attendance for the closing of the festival. The tragedy happened at about 2 am, according to local authorities. Immediately after the incident occurred, the festival was shut down, and fans were asked to go home.
The town of Las Berlanas posted a tribute to the singer on its Facebook page, offering condolences to her family.
“From the Municipal Corporation of Las Berlanas and as representatives of the whole town, we want to extend our condolences to the relatives of Joanna, the girl from the Super Hollywood group who died yesterday in our town, as well as to all her groupmates.”
Spanish law enforcement is currently investigating the pyrotechnics company that manufactured the effects, as well as the Catalan-based supplier.
Joana was the pop group Super Hollywood Orchestra’s primary dancer and choreographer. The group has over 15 members, including singers, musicians, and dancers who appear on stage.
RIP Joana. What a shocking tragedy.
DOn’t buy pyrotechnics from a loser company and don’t stand near any pyrotechnics. In fact, in this day and age or monitors and projections, use them very rarely.