A POP singer and dancer has been killed mid-performance in a pyrotechnics accident at a fiesta in Spain.
Joana Sainz, 30, was on stage with the Super Hollywood Orchestra when a pyrotechnics cartridge exploded and hit her in the stomach.
The accident occurred in the town of Las Berlanas, northwest of Madrid, just before 2am local time on Sunday.
Around 1,000 spectators were watching the performance, the closing of a weekend-long fiesta in the town.
The curtain was quickly lowered and the woman was seen to by paramedics and a doctor who happened to be in the crowd.
She was rushed to a hospital in Avila unconscious but could not be saved.
Witnesses said they heard a very loud bang and saw the singer fall to the floor.
Sainz was the was the group’s principal dancer and choreographer, El Diario Montanes reported.
The group has 15 members, including singers, musicians and dancers, mixing pop with entertainment in its performances.
She was from the northern port city of Santander but had been living in nearby Suances.
One man who was watching the performance said: “There were two rockets – one that went in the right direction and the other hit the singer in the abdomen.”
Spain’s 112 emergency services confirmed the incident happened at 1.49am and the ambulance arrived about 25 minutes later.
An investigation into the cause of the accident has now been launched.
Isidro Lopez, of promoter Prones 1SL, said the cartridges had been part of the groups show for five or six years, and are designed to burn for 15 to 20 seconds.
He added that the group had used a total of more than 2,000 cartridges in its previous performances without incident.
Prones 1SL said in a statement on Facebook: “The whole Prones family, partners, artists, friends, collaborators are very sad and dismayed by the loss of our companion and friend Joana Sainz, dancer and choreographer of the Super Hollywood Orchestra.
“We sincerely appreciate all the love we are receiving in these hard moments.”
A spokesperson for the 112 emergency services said in the aftermath of the incident: “A call was received to report an incident in Las Berlanas, where a pyrotechnic device has exploded on the stage of the orchestra and a woman, belonging to the orchestra, has been injured and is unconscious.
“The Civil Guard and medics were alerted.
“She was attended to at the scene before being taken to the Avila Healthcare Complex.”
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