A model has died after becoming sick and falling on the catwalk at São Paulo fashion week, in Brazil.

Organisers said Tales Soares took ill on Saturday while modelling clothes for the fashion brand Ocksa. A medical team attended to him on the catwalk, and Soares was later taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death is not known.

The newspaper Folha de S Paulo reported that Soares tripped on his shoelace and fell. According to the paper, people in the crowd initially thought his fall was part of a performance.

A photograph in the newspaper showed the Brazilian model lying face down on the catwalk while paramedics treated him. The paper reported that Soares, an advocate for gay rights, was 26. – Associated Press