Global Courant 2023-04-18 07:56:42
Authorities are investigating the death of an acrobat, who fell last Saturday while performing with her husband at a live flying trapeze performance in Suzhou, China.
Videos posted to social media of the graphic incident showed the pair being pulled high into the air from the ground by what appears to be a crane.
In the videos, the woman was later seen falling from a height of over 30 feet after her husband failed to catch her with his legs during the performance.
The videos showed the woman – who has been identified in local media as Ms Sun – falling onto a hard surface. Onlookers can be heard screaming in the videos as Sun lands on the ground.
A colleague of Ms Sun told local media that she was “still breathing weakly” after the incident.
Ms Sun was rushed to hospital but succumbed to her injuries.
On Monday, the Chinese news outlet Global Times reported that authorities have promised an in-depth investigation in accordance with laws and regulations.
Following the incident, the performance was canceled along with other shows that were due to take place over the weekend.
The pair were reportedly accomplished performers who had worked together for many years, but had often performed without seatbelts “to look good”.
The incident took place at a farm in the city, according to a statement from Suzhou City’s Yongqiao District Information Bureau.
Citing media reports, China Daily reported on Tuesday that an agreement signed by the farm owner and the performance company said the latter is responsible for the safety of the performance. The company was not named in the report.
Future appearances by the company involved were immediately suspended, the report said, citing the Yongqiao government.
The report added that videos showed an employee of the company telling the audience before the show, “We[want]to make the program real, so the acrobats haven’t taken any safety precautions.”
Netizens in China questioned how the incident could have happened and called for better regulation in the acrobat performance industry.
A Weibo netizen wrote, “Cancel this risky acrobatic show! Or add protection.”
Another netizen wrote: “Protective nets must be set up under high-altitude acrobatics… the organizer is responsible and cannot escape!”
