A 39-year-old Chinese livestreamer collapsed and died on camera after suddenly suffering a sudden brainstem hemorrhage during a late-night sales broadcast in Shanxi Province on March 9.
Wang Yefei, more popularly known online as "Sister Wang Zha," had racked up a follower count of 130,000 viewers by livestreaming sales of women's fashion online.
She was a single mother raising a daughter who is about 4 years old, and friends said she routinely streamed seven to 10 hours a day, often relying on painkillers to manage recurring headaches.
Footage from the broadcast shows Wang trying on and presenting outfits when, about 36 minutes into the stream, she suddenly clutched her head and neck, indicating to her staff that she felt severely unwell.
She stepped off-camera briefly while an assistant massaged her, then returned looking visibly worse, repeatedly touching the back of her neck and her chest.
Her condition deteriorated within moments, prompting her to ask her staff to call 120, China's emergency number, warning she was about to collapse.
She was rushed to the hospital but died after just 11 minutes of emergency treatment, a friend who attended her funeral told a local news outlet.
Wang Had Complained of Headaches, Slept Little and Stayed Up Late to Maintain Follower Count, Income
The cause of death was later revealed to be brainstem hemorrhage, one of the deadliest forms of stroke. Wang was described as a hardworking woman in seemingly good health who pushed herself relentlessly to support her daughter.
She had complained of headaches before the Lunar New Year holiday but had not sought medical attention. She typically stayed up late and slept little to maintain her follower count and income.
The incident reignited a recurring conversation in China about the physical toll of the livestreaming industry, where influencers routinely work punishing hours to stay visible on platform algorithms. Last October, a 32-year-old streamer known as "Yunnan Akui" also died of brainstem hemorrhage after collapsing during a broadcast, Chinese media reported.
