Model,14, dies from exhaustion

MOSCOW: A teenage Russian model has died after a gruelling 12-hour fashion show in China.

Vlada Dzyuba ( pix), 14, collapsed just before walking out onto the catwalk in Shanghai, The Siberian Times reports.

She was found to be suffering from chronic meningitis “compounded by severe exhaustion” and remained in a coma for two days before she died.

Dzyuba collapsed after her temperature soared while waiting for her next appearance.

It is alleged the young model was too “scared” to ask for medical help and was working well over her contract of a maximum three hours a week.

It is alleged she was not taken to hospital for lack of medical insurance, despite being on a three-month contract with a prominent Chinese modelling agency.

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

China is recruiting an increasing number of young models, often between 14 and 16, from Russia and especially Siberia to work at catwalk shows.

Vlada’s mother was unable to reach her daughter before she died as her last-minute visa was not cleared in time.

She told the television programme NTV: “She was calling me, saying ‘Mama, I am so tired. I want to sleep so much’.

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

Dzyuba’s family has contacted the Russian state to ask for help in finding answers. – The Independent