Joana Sainz Garcia, Spanish Pop Star, Killed In Horrific Fireworks Accident On Stage In Front Of Fans

Joana Sainz Garcia, an up-and-coming Spanish pop star, was killed on-stage in front of horrified fans when a pyrotechnics display went wrong, The New York Daily News reports.

Early Sunday morning, Garcia was performing with her group, Super Hollywood Orchestra, in the town of Las Berlanas. Just moments into her set, a pyrotechnics display went awry, sending a fireworks into her abdomen. A doctor and a nurse aided her as best they could, but the 30-year-old was pronounced dead when she arrived at a hospital.

According to Spanish newspaper El Diario Montanes, a spokesperson for Garcia’s management group, Prones 1SL, said that they believe it was a manufacturing defect in the shell that caused the young pop star’s death.

“When loading the cartridge, they put in another material and exploded the iron casing, which damaged Joana,” according to the spokesperson.

The spokesperson believes that the shell struck the singer/dancer in the artery.

“The whole Prones family, partners, artists, friends, collaborators are very sad and dismayed by the loss of our companion and friend Joana Sainz,” reads a post on the group’s website.

At least one fan in the audience was able to capture the moment the show went awry. You can watch the video below, but be warned: it may be disturbing to some viewers.

https://youtu.be/ydawvQxFGQI

It does not appear, as of this writing, that Garcia’s management group intends to pursue legal action, according to the Spanish newspaper.

Spanish singer and dancer Joana Sainz Garcia, 30, collapsed on stage when she was hit in the stomach by concert pyrotechnics in Spain.https://t.co/JZcTP7clt6

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) September 2, 2019

In a statement, the Town Hall of Las Berlanas shared their condolences over the performer’s death in their city.

“We want to extend our condolences to the relatives of Joanna, the girl from the Super Hollywood group who died this Saturday in our town, as well as to all her groupmates. We also want to thank… neighbors… and all visitors for their good behavior in those difficult times,” read the statement.

This is not the first time that a pyrotechnics display at a concert has resulted in death. In one of the worst accidents in the history of rock-‘n’-roll, a fireworks mishap occurred at a 2003 Great White concert in Rhode Island. As Rolling Stone reports, the on-stage pyrotechnics ignited foam in the walls of the concert venue. 100 people, including Great White guitarist Ty Longley, were killed, and 230 people were injured.

For a period of years since the event, Great White had refused to perform the song “Desert Moon,” which they were performing when the fire broke out. However, by 2009 they had begun performing the song again.