Circus suffers double disaster as two child acrobats plunge to the ground during aerial act – days after performing bear furiously attacked its handler
A circus in war-torn Ukraine suffered a double disaster after two child acrobats plunged 10 feet (3 meters) during an aerial act – just days after a performing bear furiously attacked its handler.
A 15-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl fell into the floodlit ring as they were watched by a shocked audience of children and parents.
The male circus performer ‘lost his grip’ and without a safety net, both fell during their stunt at the city circus in Zaporizhia.
Horror footage showed the two children swinging on a thick rope in a circle around the stage while the girl clung to the boy’s leg.
As they approached a full loop, the boy suddenly let go of the rope and the pair fell to the hard floor, seemingly hitting the corner of the stage.
Two child acrobats performed an aerial act at a Ukrainian circus before the boy ‘lost his grip on the rope’
The two children fell 3.5 meters down onto the stage after the boy’s hands slipped from the rope
The pair could be seen lying on their backs on the ground after the horror fall
The force with which they hit the ground caused them to bounce, leaving the two child performers on their backs before the video stopped.
The boy suffered broken legs in the fall and the girl suffered a concussion, the local newspaper Informator reported.
Both children are currently in hospital for observation after the circus disaster.
Hospital chief Yuri Borzenko said: “They are conscious. They are in intensive care as a precaution.
‘The girl has suffered a concussion, she is complaining of a headache.
‘The boy has broken both legs. There is no damage to internal organs.’
A criminal case has been opened to investigate whether health and safety rules have been breached.
A few days earlier, a performing brown bear at the same circus in the city of Zaporizhia suddenly launched a furious attack on a trainer in front of spectators.
The trainer had given the bear a ‘treat’ before the animal turned on him.
Footage from an onlooker captured the moment the brown creature leapt onto its hind legs and charged at the handler during the shock attack.
Days earlier at the same circus, a trainer was attacked by a bear after giving him a treat during a performance
Footage captured the moment the animal ripped open the artist’s shirt as he fought off the animal
The trio eventually got the bear back from its standing position, but it could be seen shaking angrily
The bear tore the man’s shirt with its claws, leaving gaping holes in the material as the trainer fought to control the animal.
The bear can be seen shaking furiously as it falls back onto its four legs, bobbing its head angrily as the trainer tries to calm it down by pulling on a rope attached to the animal’s snout.
An onlooker said: ‘The bear attacked a trainer at the Zaporizhia circus.
‘It just happened during the performance.
“Thank God no one was seriously injured.”
Bears and other animals are still used in circuses in former Soviet countries, including Ukraine and Russia.
The city of Zaporizhia is the capital of a region of the same name divided by Vladimir Putin’s invasion, with part of the territory controlled by Ukraine and part by Russia.
The shocking accidents in Ukraine come after hundreds of spectators watched in horror on Saturday after a circus performer jumped from the ‘Wheel of Death’ at Blackpool Tower.
The crowd was evacuated as emergency services rushed to the scene after one of the two performers fell from the apparatus while performing the dangerous stunt involving a rotating beam.
A spokesperson for Blackpool Tower told MailOnline that the performer was ‘recovering well’ after being treated for a ‘minor injury to his wrist’ during the rehearsed manoeuvre.