An acrobat in his 20s who performed a “wheel of death” act with his brother in England on Wednesday was taken to hospital after sliding almost five meters in the air.
“There seemed to be a lack of timing. He tried to jump through one of the wheels, slipped and landed on the ground. “After the fall he was fully conscious and two spectators, an off-duty police officer and a paramedic, came to help him,” circus manager and master Jack Jay told the BBC on Thursday.
The young acrobat in his 20s was performing a performance with his brother at the Hippodrome Circus in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk on Wednesday when he plunged almost five meters through the air in front of an audience of children and unsteady adults, according to images shared by British media.
“At first I thought it was part of the show, so I kept filming. “They often intentionally miss to make the public angry and nervous, but then we realized something was wrong,” a witness at the scene said on condition of anonymity, sharing her images with the BBC.
According to Norfolk Police, the young man was taken to hospital with “serious, life-changing injuries” but was in a stable condition.
He is expected to walk away with a broken shoulder, arm and leg, his manager told the BBC in a follow-up.
After checking the equipment, no fault was found with the equipment or the manipulation of the act, suggesting that “human error” was behind the accident, he told British media.
“We are pleased that the news is positive given the events and that he is in a good condition of recovery,” Jack Jay added.