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Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance

By 0 and 0 and 0
27 October 2017

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The preliminary cause of death is meningitis compounded by severe exhaustion. Picture: Oksana Dzyuba

Vlada Dzyuba, aged 14, a prominent young model, died after being in a coma for two days after expiring at a gruelling fashion show in Shanghai.

She was evidently suffering from meningitis but her condition was not spotted in time and she was made to continue on the catwalk in a show for Asian designers, it was reported. 

As she waited for her next appearance, her temperature soared.

Minutes later she collapsed and was unconscious. 

An ambulance was called but she died on Friday after two days in a coma. 

The preliminary cause of death is meningitis compounded by severe exhaustion. 

Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance


Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance


Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance
Vlada was to turn 15 on 8 November. Pictures: Oksana Dzyuba


Vlada's distraught mother Oksana wept as she told NTV: 'She was calling me, saying 'Mama, I am so tired. I so much want to sleep'.

'It must have been the very beginning of the illness... and then her temperature shot up. 

'I didn't sleep myself and was calling her constantly, begging her to go to hospital.'

Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance


Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance


Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance
Vlada's mother Oksana, and a collage of Vlada's childhood pictures. Pictures: Oksana Dzyuba


The schoolgirl's tragic death raises serious questions about the use of child labour by the fashion industry. 

China is recruiting an increasing number of - often very young - models from Russia and especially Siberia to work at catwalk shows. 

It appears the girl did not go to hospital because she had not been provided with medical insurance despite being in China on a three month contract which involved her missing school back home in Perm, in the Urals.

Vlada was also described as suffering from 'utter exhaustion'.

She had been recruited by a prominent Chinese modelling agency, it is understood. 

The model had a 'personal curator' named as Dmitry Smirnov. It is unclear what role he played in seeking medical care for the model when she needed it.

It is also not clear who is to blame for her not having medical insurance.

Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance


Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance


Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance


Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance


Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance
Vlada pictured during her last show, her agent Dmitry Smirnov, and doctors at a Shanghai hospital that fought for her life. Pictures: NTV


Vlada's mother had sought a visa to rush to her sick daughter but was unable to complete the red tape in time. 

Tests are being carried out as to the cause of death. 

The young model's relatives fear that 'a desire to profit from Vlada won against elementary care' for her. 

Vlada's family has appealed to Russian diplomats to secure answers to the conditions under which she lived, worked - and died. 

Officially she was allowed to work three hours a week in China, a law which mirrors that in Russia. 

Vlada's mother had sought a visa to rush to her sick daughter but was unable to complete the red tape in time. Pictures of Vlada: Oksana Dzyuba

Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance


Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance


Modelling scandal: young girl dies in China after 13 hour fashion show with no medical insurance

Comments (14)

It is a sad event. Although this kind of death may happen everywhere, western countries exaggerate it because the model is Russian. The model was too young; people under eighteen shouldn't be allowed to take part in such performances. Beauty shouldn't be something for which fashion companies could slave the young.
Veysel Yahsi, Irkutsk, Russia
04/11/2017 15:29
2
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Unfortunately, the only reason this is a story is because the girl was a model, a very pretty one, whose looks were valued and paid for. How many people die every day, children or not, because of inadequate health insurance? Or is this story supposed to be about the cruel world of the modeling industry, versus textile manufacturing with child labor? Or about parents supporting kids' desires to pursue a dream of their future profession? Or about vaccination idiosyncrasies which lead to contracting preventable diseases? Still, I find the modeling agency clearly and directly responsible for the health and welfare of this young girl. They failed her.
Longbow_shelly, TEXAS, USA
04/11/2017 09:32
5
1
Stupid vain parents. There is no space for a 14 year old kid alone in the modeling business, in China or anywhere else... There are enough vain people of legal age to do this.
Yuri, Taiwan
03/11/2017 20:46
9
2
What a horrible passing. I hope the best for her parents. My prayers are with her voyage to the next life.
Anthony Ivankovic, New York, New York United States
03/11/2017 09:55
2
0
Unfortunately, this is the ugly side of the industry. In China anyway. I have several friends in the performing arts industry are being wrought dry. Conditions are inhumane. People are treated like a commodity. Most models and actors that aren't famous are expected to sleep with producers alike. It's a real shame.
Human life is the least valuable commodity in china. A beer has more value than a human life. Real sad.
Kryn, Shanghai
01/11/2017 05:41
6
2
This is not what happened, check your facts and your sources!!!!!!! Stupid Journalism. She died of a disease not of exhaustion, she did not fall in a coma, she had a perfect normal contract and conditions of work, no ambulance was called, your entire article is pure rubbish!
Nick, Shanghai
31/10/2017 12:17
4
17
It's horrible ! It's unfortunate ! She was so young! It's a big loss for the world of modeling and her family. When she was crying on the telephone,she said to her mother ,she's so tired and she wanted to die.Why her mother did not rushed to China to take care of her daughter,or bring her back to Russia.. If she didn't have money for the trip ,so why she didn't tell her daughter to go to Russia embassy for help. My prayers go to family and the Russia people. I am so sorry for the lost of a such beautiful young girl !
Lucia Martinez, Canada
31/10/2017 05:17
3
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Do any of these useless idiots even know that China is a communist country ???????
Herry, Canada
30/10/2017 20:06
3
6
It has become world of heartless feelings,
Great tragedy, irreparable loss.
Shahid qaiser , Pakistan
30/10/2017 18:32
3
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You can also blame the Russian government because people HAVE to earn money somehow. Why there are no big fashion houses and model agencies in Siberia, huh?
Andrew, Moscow
30/10/2017 15:45
3
4
Pourquoi avoir laissé cette jeune fille partir seule ? Pour l'argent ?pour la célébrité? Dans quelques mois plus personne ne parlera d'elle. Quelle tristesse
Suzan, France
30/10/2017 05:17
7
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It is very sad. She was extremely beautiful and will be missed very much.
Steel Johnson , USA
29/10/2017 23:21
4
1
Nej du Benedikt, så enkelt är det inte, tyvärr finns det många av din typ människor utan kärlek. I detta fall är det arrangörerna till detta som är ansvariga för att inte ha kontrollerat, samt låtit flickorna arbetat för hårt. Men orsaken kan vara att flickan skulle sökt vård för sin huvudvärk tidigare. Det är inte roligt när sådant här händer. Och ändå sämre blir det när det finns människor som anser att det är föräldrarnas fel. Nej du Benedikt du kan råka ut för det själv, och då är det inte roligt längre. Skrivet av Thore Hult
Thore Hult, Karlshamn Sverige
29/10/2017 22:58
2
2
the parents are as guilty as the organizers are. it is THEM who schlep their children from one show to the next one. forgetting very conveniently that these are still children. only money counts for them, fame and glamour. but reality is somethign VERY different. the parents have only themselves to blame.and no one else.
Benedikt MORAK, Moscow
28/10/2017 23:39
36
12
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