The winner of Miss Africa 2018 beauty pageant took a major loss when her hair caught on fire after taking the top prize this past week.
Dorcas Kasinde, who was crowned Miss Congo earlier this year, had just been announced the winner of the African pageant hosted by the Cross River State Government on Friday, Dec. 28, 2018, TMZ reports.
Unfortunately, the elaborate pageant was not the most newsworthy aspect of the gala.
In a video that was captured by Africa Facts Zone and has since gone viral, Kasinde is seen giving the customary hug after beating out one of her competitors. There was an outburst of celebratory sparklers flashing in the background, and things got scary when one of the sparks caught onto Kasinde’s hair.
Kasinde’s tears were initially born of joy. But when she realized her entire head of hair was ablaze, she gasped in horror and immediately collapsed to the ground.
Fortunately for Kasinde, there was an attentive man in proximity, and he jumped in behind her and put out her flaming hair.
“For those asking, She is fine… the fire was put out immediately, she wore her crown and carried on like a true queen,” posted one Twitter user who was at the event.
Kasinde beat out Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnaemeka and Zambia’s Gladys Kayumba for the title of Miss Africa 2018. Kasinde earned herself a $35,000 check and a brand-new car.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, 30 women from 25 countries participated in the third annual event that included Morocco, Tanzania, Togo and Ghana.
The scene was eerily reminiscent of the infamous 1984 Pepsi commercial featuring Michael Jackson and his brothers where the King of Pop’s curls caught on fire after sparks in the background ignited his hair.
Check out the video of the disaster below:
https://twitter.com/AfricaFactsZone/status/1078674738967429120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1078674738967429120&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fstyle%2Fmiss-congos-hair-catches-on-fire-miss-africa-2018%2F
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTaRyMZhpQQ
