A female circus performer from a Colombian troupe was rushed to the hospital after falling off a tightrope 16 feet in the air in front of a horrified audience in England.
The unidentified performer was seen in a video perched on the back of a chair that sat on a pole held by two men standing on a tightrope at a Gravity Circus performance at the Glye Gap Field in East Sussex on Monday.
As she crouched to lower herself into the seat slowly, balancing her feet on the railings of the chair, the pole began to wobble.
As she dropped onto the seat, her foot appeared to slip and she went tumbling off the apparatus along with the chair.
About halfway down, the chair hit what appeared to be a wire, smacking into her and sending her into a freefalling backflip until she hit the ground knees first.
The force of the impact sent her upper body into a spin until she finally landed in a fetal position on the metal ground and appeared to be unconscious.
'It looked like her leg gave way. She lost balance and went flying down wrapped around the wire,' witness Hayley Welsh told BBC. 'She smashed down onto the metal floor.'
The woman sustained 'serious' but non-life-threatening injuries, according to South East Coast Ambulance Service (Seacamb) told People.
Gravity Circus told a fan in their comment section that the performer was 'doing well and is in safe hands.'
Seacamb said she suffered from 'facial and other injuries consistent with a fall' and she was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, according to People.
The woman was a part of the High Wire Troupe from Colombia, according to Gravity Circus.
The company acknowledged that in live entertainment, 'accidents can unfortunately happen despite stringent safety measures,' BBC reported.
'Our primary concern is the wellbeing of the performer, their family, the high wire troupe, and our entire circus family,' it said. 'We are closely monitoring the situation and conducting a thorough investigation.'
Their upcoming performances are planned as scheduled and Gravity Circus plans on giving an update on the performer soon.
The unidentified performer was seen in a video perched on the back of a chair that sat on a pole held by two men standing on a tightrope at a Gravity Circus performance at the Glye Gap Field in East Sussex on Monday.
As she crouched to lower herself into the seat slowly, balancing her feet on the railings of the chair, the pole began to wobble.
As she dropped onto the seat, her foot appeared to slip and she went tumbling off the apparatus along with the chair.
About halfway down, the chair hit what appeared to be a wire, smacking into her and sending her into a freefalling backflip until she hit the ground knees first.
The force of the impact sent her upper body into a spin until she finally landed in a fetal position on the metal ground and appeared to be unconscious.
'It looked like her leg gave way. She lost balance and went flying down wrapped around the wire,' witness Hayley Welsh told BBC. 'She smashed down onto the metal floor.'
The woman sustained 'serious' but non-life-threatening injuries, according to South East Coast Ambulance Service (Seacamb) told People.
Gravity Circus told a fan in their comment section that the performer was 'doing well and is in safe hands.'
Seacamb said she suffered from 'facial and other injuries consistent with a fall' and she was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, according to People.
The woman was a part of the High Wire Troupe from Colombia, according to Gravity Circus.
The company acknowledged that in live entertainment, 'accidents can unfortunately happen despite stringent safety measures,' BBC reported.
'Our primary concern is the wellbeing of the performer, their family, the high wire troupe, and our entire circus family,' it said. 'We are closely monitoring the situation and conducting a thorough investigation.'
Their upcoming performances are planned as scheduled and Gravity Circus plans on giving an update on the performer soon.
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NewsTranscript
00:00A female circus performer from a Colombian troupe was rushed to the hospital after falling
00:11off a tightrope 16 feet in the air in front of a horrified audience in England.
00:16The unidentified performer was seen in a video perched on the back of a chair that sat on
00:20a pole held by two men standing on a tightrope at a Gravity Circus performance at the Glygap
00:24Field in East Sussex on Monday.
00:27As she crouched to lower herself into the seat slowly, balancing her feet on the railings
00:31of the chair, the pole began to wobble.
00:34As she dropped onto the seat, her foot appeared to slip and she went tumbling off the apparatus
00:38along with the chair.
00:40About halfway down, the chair hit what appeared to be a wire, smacking into her and sending
00:45her into a free-falling backflip until she hit the ground knees first.
00:49The force of the impact sent her upper body into a spin until she finally landed in a
00:53fetal position on the metal ground and appeared to be unconscious.
00:57It looked like her leg gave way.
00:59She lost balance and went flying down wrapped around the wire, witness Hayley Welsh told
01:04BBC.