Russian 14-year-old Vlada Dzyuba became ill after Shanghai fashion week and died after condition deteriorated rapidly

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The Chinese agency representing a 14-year-old Russian model who died after Shanghai fashion week has denied allegations that she was overworked and exhausted.

The death of Vlada Dzyuba in a Chinese hospital on Friday has shone a light on the world of western models working in China, many of whom are from Russia and dream of carving out a career in the notoriously tough industry.

The teenager, who despite her age was allowed to model under Chinese law, began feeling dizzy and started being sick last Tuesday. She was taken to a Shanghai hospital the next day but died on Friday after her condition quickly deteriorated.

The English-language newspaper the Siberian Times alleged that Dzyuba died of meningitis compounded by severe exhaustion after “a gruelling fashion show in Shanghai”.

“We feel sorry that we lost an angel,” ESEE Model Management in Shanghai said on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, pointing out that Shanghai fashion week ended on 18 October and Dzyuba fell ill six days later while on another assignment.

ESEE’s chief executive, Zheng Yi, told the state-run Global Times that the model had worked a legal eight hours a day during the two months she spent in China before her death.

“Dzyuba had 16 different jobs during her two-month stay in China, she had regular breaks while working,” Zheng told the newspaper on Sunday. “Most of her work was completed within eight hours. Her workload was moderate compared with other models.”

After the Shanghai event, Dzyuba travelled to Yiwu, a city south of Shanghai, but a shoot was cancelled because she began feeling unwell and she returned to Shanghai.

When her health worsened, Dzyuba was taken to hospital and put in touch by telephone with Russian consular staff, and her family were informed of her illness. The next day, according to ESEE, consular officials and police arrived at Ruijin hospital and Dzyuba was placed in intensive care, where she died the next morning.

The Global Times quoted a representative for Shanghai fashion week as saying it was investigating and cited a medical report saying she had septicopyemia, a type of blood poisoning.

Dzyuba died less than two weeks before her 15th birthday.

In its statement, ESEE said it had signed a three-month contract with Dzyuba and her modelling agency in Russia.

There was no immediate response from Russian officials in China.