Montenegro\u2019s life was cut short by the freak accident, which unfolded on Tuesday at the fitness facility where he was a regular in Olinda, on Brazil\u2019s northeast coast near the city of Recife.<\/p>\n
His place of work, the Palacio dos Bonecos Gigantes museum, confirmed the tragedy in a statement alongside a photo of Montenegro and a black ribbon.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Ronald Montenegro, our president and an indispensable figure in the history and construction of the Palacio dos Bonecos,\u201d the announcement read, according to Mail Online.<\/p>\n
The 55-year-old from Brazil initially got up but seconds later he collapsed to the floor. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Police opened an investigation into the incident but have concluded it was an accident, the publication said.<\/p>\n
The gym, RW Academia, also posted a tribute on its social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is with deep sadness and dismay that RW Academia expresses its solidarity with the passing of our student Ronald Jose Salvador,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire team provided immediate assistance, promptly calling for specialised help. Despite all efforts, we received the news of his passing with immense sorrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, wishing them strength and comfort at this time of immeasurable grief. Ronald Jose Salvador will always be remembered with respect and affection by all who were part of his journey in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Footage from the gym has since been shared online, with many horrified at how quickly the accident took his life, while others expressed concerns it appeared to show Montenegro was working out alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why it\u2019s so important to have a spotter! Poor man, I feel so bad that happened to him,\u201d said one.<\/p>\n
\u201cDang. Life changed in a matter of seconds,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n
A relative, who asked not to be identified, told Brazilian media Montenegro was a regular at the gym and trained to keep fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a workout that requires a trainer,\u201d he said, according to the Express.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the video, you can see that he is fine, that he even does a session, warms up his arms to do it again, and when he sits down, he can\u2019t do it and the bar slips.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we want is for gyms to look at the issue of prevention in relation to this equipment. Trainers cannot let students do it on their own, even if they know how to do the movement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor\u2019s Picks<\/a>, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week\u2019s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Montenegro\u2019s life was cut short by the freak accident, which unfolded on Tuesday at the fitness facility where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":170825,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1081,74,53548,27274,9525,21181,5657,110362,7126,52636,15356,33445,19473,14744,42,6559,78,10933,5158,4505,43,90,5348,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-170824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-accident","tag-after","tag-barbell","tag-brazilian","tag-caught","tag-cctv","tag-chest","tag-crushes","tag-dies","tag-dropping","tag-emerged","tag-fatally","tag-footage","tag-gym","tag-headlines","tag-heavy","tag-in","tag-injured","tag-man","tag-moment","tag-news","tag-on","tag-showing","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}