A 16-year-old fan died after collapsing outside a Stray Kids concert venue near Buenos Aires, prompting a judicial investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.
The teenager became ill at approximately 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, while preparing to enter the STRAYCITY festival at the Hipódromo de San Isidro, according to event organizer DF Entertainment and local reports.
Emergency personnel treated her at the scene before transporting her by ambulance to the Hospital Central de San Isidro "Dr. Melchor Ángel Posse," located approximately 400 meters from the venue.
Medical staff attempted to resuscitate the teenager, but she died shortly afterward following cardiorespiratory arrest, DF Entertainment said in a statement .
The teenager's identity is being withheld under a judicial order. She reportedly attended the event with her 22-year-old sister-in-law and collapsed before entering the festival grounds. There is currently no verified evidence connecting her death to crowd conditions, prolonged waiting, dehydration or any other specific factor.
The investigation is being handled by San Isidro's Functional Investigation Unit No. 1, known locally as UFI No. 1. The municipal government said it is cooperating with judicial authorities and has made the event's safety and permitting documentation available to investigators.
San Isidro officials said the concert had the emergency resources required for a large public event. Those provisions included ambulances, first responders, Red Cross personnel, hydration stations and a health plan approved by the municipality's Health Secretariat. Officials said the services had been inspected as part of the municipal operation at the venue.
DF Entertainment expressed its condolences to the teenager's family and said the company was in direct contact with her relatives.
"DF Entertainment deeply regrets this tragic loss and expresses its sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones," the promoter said.
The company added that it was cooperating fully with authorities and said any additional information about the circumstances would come from investigators.
The tragedy occurred during Stray Kids' first visit to Argentina. The South Korean group was scheduled to perform at the Hipódromo de San Isidro on Sept. 14 and 15 as part of STRAYCITY, a series of special Latin American performances.
The eight-member act consists of Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N. Formed by JYP Entertainment through a 2017 reality program, Stray Kids officially debuted in March 2018 with the EP I Am Not.
The group has since become one of K-pop's biggest international acts, developing an especially devoted following known as STAY. Its music combines hip-hop, electronic music, pop and rock, with members frequently participating in the writing and production process. Bang Chan, Changbin and Han form the production unit 3RACHA, which has played a central role in shaping the group's sound.
The Sept. 14 concert marked the first of the two scheduled Buenos Aires performances and featured supporting acts including NEXZ, K4OS and Cocho. Thousands of fans attended the event, and some had gathered near the venue before the show to secure preferred positions.
However, no official report has said that the teenager had camped outside the venue or that the behavior of other concertgoers contributed to her medical emergency.
Authorities have cautioned against speculation while they await the medical-legal report. Until those findings are released, the underlying cause of the teenager's collapse and death remains undetermined.
