Circus performers injured in 12m fall
Print Edition
INVESTIGATORS looking into why eight female circus acrobats plummeted to the ground during an aerial hair-hanging stunt in the United States have found that a clamp snapped, an official said yesterday.
“We have identified a clamp that snapped that held them to the rafters, and it failed,” Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said a day after a support frame collapsed during the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus.
Three of the acrobats remained in a critical condition as of yesterday morning. Several performers on the ground also were injured. None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening, said Stephen Payne, a spokesman for Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros.
The act is part of the “Legends” show, during which performers hang “like a human chandelier” by their hair. Eight of the injured were members of the same circus troupe, and are from the US, Brazil, Bulgaria and Ukraine, according to the circus’s website.
“They’ve used this act many times. Unfortunately this particular clamp failed. It snapped. We have it, we’re analyzing it, we’re seeing why it happened to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” Payne said.
Investigators from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are also probing the accident.
The accident happened during a Sunday morning performance witnessed by an audience of about 3,900.
Payne said the metal-frame from which the performers were hanging came free from the truss to which it was connected. The women fell 7 to 12 meters, landing on a dancer below.
Roman Garcia, general manager of the Legends show, said: “Everybody’s doing fine, everybody’s at the hospital, everybody’s conscious, everybody’s doing pretty well.”
Payne said the circus is working with federal and local officials to find out what went wrong and correct any problems that might exist.
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