Former Miss Teen Universe Lotte Van Der Zee Dead At 20

Photo: courtesy of @lotte_zee.

Former Miss Teen Universe Lotte van der Zee has died, after suffering cardiac arrest. She was 20.

The Dutch model, who was awarded Miss Teen Universe in 2017, was on a vacation with her parents in Westendorf, Austria in February when she began to feel unwell, her parents wrote on Van der Zee’s official Instagram. Her illness eventually progressed into “sudden cardiac arrest.” After her mother attempted CPR, Van der Zee was taken to a local hospital and put into a medically-induced coma, according to Dutch newspaper De Limburger. Last week, she was transferred to a hospital in Munich. Van der Zee’s organs began to fail when she was there, so she was taken off the kidney dialysis that had kept her alive for the two weeks she was in a coma.

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Lieve vrienden, Met het grootst mogelijke verdriet willen wij jullie hierbij informeren over de reden achter Lotte’s publiekelijke afwezigheid de afgelopen dagen. Twee dagen geleden, tijdens onze vakantie in Westendorf - Oostenrijk, begon Lotte zich in de loop van de middag onwel te voelen. Een gevoel dat snel escaleerde in een plotselinge hartstilstand. Ze is naar het dichtstbijzijnde ziekenhuis gebracht waar ze in coma ligt en momenteel onder intensieve supervisie van de artsen in slaap wordt gehouden, zodat zij haar gezondheid kunnen monitoren. Bij voorbaat dank voor de liefdevolle woorden over onze dochter. We zijn dankbaar voor de steun van iedereen en danken jullie uit de grond van ons hart voor jullie liefde en positiviteit in deze tijden waarin zij dit het meeste nodig heeft. We waarderen het respect voor onze privacy in deze moeilijke tijd. Neem bij vragen alsjeblieft contact op met het management van Lotte. Liefs, Haar ouders - Bert van der Zee & Eugeniek van het Hul —————————————————————————— Dear friends, It is with the deepest sadness that we have to inform you about the reason behind Lotte’s public absence the past couple of days. Two days ago, during our holiday in Westendorf - Austria, Lotte started to feel unwell throughout the course of the afternoon. A feeling that swiftly escalated in sudden cardiac arrest. She was helped to the nearest hospital where she got into a coma and is since then kept a sleep under intensive supervision of the doctors in order to monitor her health. Thank you in advance for the loving words about our daughter. We are grateful for everyone's support and sincerely thank you for your love and positivity in these times when she needs it most. We are grateful for the privacy during this difficult time. Our wish is that it continues that way. If you have any questions, please contact Lotte’s management. With love, Her parents – Bert van der Zee & Eugeniek van het Hul

A post shared by LOTTE VAN DER ZEE (@lotte_zee) on Feb 22, 2019 at 10:00am PST

“When it became clear on Wednesday that it would not be okay, she was taken off the machine,” her mother, Eugenie van der Zee said, according to the Evening Standard.

It is not yet known what caused Van der Zee’s cardiac arrest.

“Our pearl, our everything passed away on Wednesday evening March 6th at 22:47,” her parents wrote on Instagram. “It is incredibly surreal that our dearly beloved Lotte is not around us anymore. Our hearts are truly broken.”

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Onze parel, ons alles is op woensdagavond 6 maart om 22:47 overleden. Het is super onwerkelijk dat onze lieve Lotte er niet meer is. Onze harten zijn gebroken? Nogmaals willen we jullie allemaal bedanken voor alle steun en hartverwarmende berichten. ——————————————————————————- Our pearl, our everything passed away on Wednesday evening March 6th at 22:47. It is incredibly surreal that our dearly beloved Lotte is not around us anymore. Our hearts are truly broken? We would like to thank you all again for all the support and heartwarming messages.

A post shared by LOTTE VAN DER ZEE (@lotte_zee) on Mar 7, 2019 at 2:09am PST

Correction: This post has been updated to accurately reflect that Van der Zee died after cardiac arrest, not a heart attack, and her age when she died.

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