Worrying clip shows Taylor Swift 'struggling to BREATHE' at sweltering Rio show where fan, 23, died of cardiac arrest

Taylor Swift appeared to be struggling to breathe as she performed in 100F heat during her concert in Rio de Janeiro on Friday night.

In video posted to TikTok the pop superstar took a moment to catch her breath as she turned away from fans at the end of one of her hits.

The clear cellphone footage sees her then gasping for air at the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium as she looks skywards with her mouth wide open.

In the 11-second clip, Swift can be seen hurriedly taking seven breaths before starting another of her hit songs.

The concerning clip came only hours after a 23-year-old fan, Ana Clara Benevides, died of a cardiac arrest inside the sweltering stadium.

The worry appeared to be shared among her fans who posted in comments. 

'I really hope she is okay. She has to take of herself because it's that hot. I think it's best she postponed,' wrote Elen. 

'I can't imagine the heat on her with all the light on top of the already hot environment,' noted Ashley.

'She was hyperventilating to avoid passing out. Thank God the show was almost over,' said Steven Stewart. 

'She pushes herself so much for her fans and I applaud her for that, but she needs a break especially in that heat, ' added Rylee. 

In another video on Friday night's show, Taylor was captured tossing a water bottle out to an adoring fan in the audience.

During her performance of All Too Well, Taylor grabbed the bottle from a helpful stagehand, sauntered over to the center of the stage and  launched it into the crowd.

The viral fan video of the incident was captioned, 'Taylor throwing a water bottle to a fan who needs help while singing All Too Well #RioTSTheErasTour.'

On Saturday evening Swift and her team postponed her second show in the city explaining how the risks were too high for the concert to go on.

The songstress posted a heartfelt message after already having arrived at Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium in preparation for the event. 

'I'm writing this from my dressing room in the stadium. The decision has been made to postpone tonight's show due to extreme temperatures in Rio,' she wrote in a note shared to Instagram.

'The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first.'

On Friday night, Benevides, fainted while at the show and later died after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest.

The office of Rio's public prosecutor opened a criminal investigation and said Benevides' body was being examined.

Benevides' death shook many people in Brazil. She had taken her first flight ever to travel from the country's center-west region to Rio to see her favorite musician.

She also created a WhatsApp group to keep her family updated, sending photos and videos every step of the way, family members said.

On her way to Rio, Benevides sent a video to family members that was broadcast by TV channel Globo News, telling them: 'Mom, look at the plane, it's moving. Mom, I´m on the plane. My God in heaven! I'm happy!'

Then before the concert, she posted a video of herself on Instagram wearing a Taylor Swift T-shirt and friendship bracelets, seeking shade under an umbrella while waiting in line to enter the stadium.

She told her followers while fanning her face that she´d arrived at 11am - the show began around 7:30pm - and was 'still in the mess.'

Benevides´ friend, Daniele Menin, who attended the concert with her, told online news site G1 that her friend passed out at the beginning of the concert, as Swift performed her second song, 'Cruel Summer.'

Fans and politicians reacted to her death with outrage, speculating it was linked to the extreme heat.

Prior to Saturday's shock cancellation, firefighters were seen spraying fans with water as they waited for doors to open.

The region is experiencing a record-breaking heat wave with a daily high of around 103 degrees Fahrenheit, but with a heat index that makes it feel like 125F.

In another video to social media throngs of Swifties were seen packed into the stadium as staff handed out water to the crowd battling the heat.

Swift is still expected to perform on Monday.

On Friday, concertgoers complained they were not allowed to take water into the stadium despite the stifling weather.

Furious Taylor Swift fans took aim at entertainment company, Time For Fun (T4F) for banning concert-goers from taking water into the sweltering venue before Friday's show.

'You are responsible for this! They ban water just for the profit in their pockets!' one fan lamented.

'Water is essential to life, and in addition to prohibiting it, they also closed the air intakes for 'better acoustics'. 

'They basically cooked people alive inside the stadium because you don't want to pay for the minimum comfort for fans who already pay a lot for a ticket. Murderers!'

Elizabeth Morin, 26, who recently moved to Rio from Los Angeles, described 'sauna-like' conditions inside the stadium.

'It was extremely hot. My hair got so wet from sweat as soon as I came in,' she said. 'There was a point at which I had to check my breathing to make sure I wasn´t going to pass out.'

Morin said she drank plenty of water but saw 'a good amount of people looking distressed' and others 'yelling for water.'

She said she was able to get water from the sidelines of the area she was standing in, but that water was a lot harder to access from other parts of the stadium, 'especially if you were concerned about losing your specific position.'

During the show, Swift paused her performance and asked from the stage for water to be brought to a group of people who had successfully caught the singer's attention, according to Morin.

'They were holding up their phones saying `We need water,´' she recalled.

Time4Fun, said on Instagram that paramedics attended to Benevides after she reported feeling unwell. 

She was taken to a first-aid center and then to a hospital, where she died an hour later, the statement from the Brazilian live entertainment company said. 

As temperatures continued to rise on Saturday and with two more shows to go at the time, federal authorities announced that free water would now be made available at concerts and other large events. 

Justice Minister Flávio Dino said on X that going forward in Brazil, 'water bottles for personal use, in suitable material, will be allowed' at concerts and festivals and that show producers must provide free and easily accessible drinking water.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes wrote on X that the 'loss of a young woman's life ... is unacceptable' and demanded more paramedics and ambulances at future shows.

Heat exhaustion, which can include dizziness, headaches, shaking and thirst, is not usually serious, providing the person cools down within 30 minutes.

The more serious version is heat-stroke, when the body's core temperature goes above 105 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a medical emergency and can lead to long-term organ damage and death.

T4F, who is a Brazilian entertainment company described as the third largest live entertainment company in Latin America and one of the largest in the world, broke their silence on Saturday.

'It's with great sadness that we inform you about the death of Ana Clara Benevides Machado aged 23,' they wrote.

'Yesterday night, Ana Clara felt unwell and was assisted by a team of emergency workers and paramedics, being taken to a medical center at Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium so the first aid protocol could be applied.

'Given the situation, the medical team opted to transfer her to Salgado Filho Hospital. After nearly an hour of emergency assistance, she regrettably died.

'We send our most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ana Clara Benevides.'

The concert organizers say rules have changes and water will now be allowed inside the venue.

'Given the forecast of an increase in the heat wave in the city of Rio de Janeiro, we inform you that we are reinforcing the special action plan carried out for the first day of the show, especially the provision of free water in the queues and at all accesses and entrances to the stadium and inside,' they wrote.

'New free water distribution points will be available to the public during the event.

'Entry to the stadium with sealed glasses of water and sealed processed food will also be permitted, with no limitation on items per person.'

After heated exchanges online, T4F clarified in their post that the requirement of 'sealed items follows safety recommendations.'

'We also emphasize that the prohibition of bottles of water entering stadiums is a requirement made by public bodies and that we do not sell drinks and food, this being a responsibility of the stadium administration,' they added.

The entertainment company said that service staff would also be reinforced with 200 extra employees in addition to the 1,230 already working the event.

'In addition, the medical care structure was reinforced, totaling 8 available medical stations, 8 ambulances and 8 mobile ICUs,' they finished.

Despite the measures the show was to be postponed. 

Videos of people fanning themselves in line, under umbrellas and pounding down water inside the venue began to surface on Saturday after fans battled blistering heat and dehydration.

Swift, who was visibly hot on-stage and even went as far as to pause her performance midway to make sure fans got liquids after she heard them screaming 'water, water' in distressing scenes between a break in songs.

Upset by Benevides senseless death, Swiftie's started a change.org petition which as of midday Saturday had seen 153,224 signatures to provide free water at events.

'Brazil suffered an irreparable loss of young Ana Benevides at a show in the State of Rio de Janeiro,' the description of the petition read.

'According to information from third parties, the young woman's death occurred due to extreme heat, in which the thermal sensation reached 60° Celsius (140 F).

'In one of the most anticipated events of this year, we saw a fatality happen before our eyes due to pure negligence. 

'Consumers in Brazil are exhausted from being disrespected by millionaire companies that do not care about the consumer.'

The petition demanded free water and slammed organizers and the role fans believe they played in the death.

'That said, here I start the campaign for the Ana Benevides Law, a law that will guarantee free distribution at events,' it read.

'The events sector feels embarrassed by the lack of responsibility of the company responsible for today's event and would like to see change so that such a fatality does not occur again!'

Earlier on Saturday, Swift broke her silence remembering the fan as an 'incredibly beautiful' person.

'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. There's very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.'

Swift offered candor in her statement revealing that she was 'not going to be able to speak about this from stage' because she is '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 added. 

'This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil.'