A Chinese acrobat has been captured on video falling to her death after losing her grip while clinging onto her husband who was being hoisted up in the air by a cable.
An investigation is now taking place, looking into the fatal accident that happened at a Friday performance in eastern China’s Anhui province. The performance was organized by a company that has not taken adequate safety measures in past exhibitions, according to Chinese state media.
Videos of the accident circulating on social media purportedly show a male acrobat wrapping his arms in fabric and then holding the female victim by her mid-section as a crane lifts the pair off the ground.
The woman then switches position in mid-air and appears to be trying to hold on to the male acrobat with only her hands, with her feet dangling.
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At that point, she appears to lose her grip before falling, drawing screams from the audience.
An audible thud could be heard as the woman slammed into the stage area, where she began the stunt about 15 seconds earlier.
There was no safety net to capture the woman’s fall, and she did not appear to be connected to any harness.
The female acrobat reportedly was taken to a local medical facility, but ultimately succumbed to her injuries.
"Local officials expressed deep condolence to the deceased and sympathy to her family, vowing a further investigation into the incident and to deal with the case according to laws and regulations based on the facts and identification of responsibilities," the Global Times reported.
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The newspaper, citing local media reports, said the performers were a couple with surnames Sun and Zhang, and they had two children.
"The host of the performance on Friday evening even used the lack of safety protection as a selling point in marketing the performance," the Global Times report added.
The report also said the China Acrobats Association has released a statement calling for greater attention to safety.
"The association said more attention should be paid to comprehensive safety measures by practitioners of acrobatics, to place acrobats’ life and safety in the first place," the report said.
The Global Times, citing public records, reported that the organizer of the performance was fined around $8,000 in March 2021 after holding a show without approval by the tourism authority in Anhui province.
