An acrobat avoided serious injury in a nasty fall while performing on an aerial hoop in front of a large crowd.
Horror footage shows the female performer losing her grip on the hoop, which was suspended from a crane.
Gasps echoed through the audience as she plummeted several metres to the ground.
The incident happened at an outdoor event on the outskirts of Luohe, in China’s Henan province, on Wednesday, 11 Mar.
Eyewitnesses told local media she landed on a metal frame, which bent under the impact.
The unnamed woman, part of a circus troupe, was rushed to hospital.
Yesterday (12 Mar), local officials said she was not seriously injured, blaming the fall on a “mistake” by the performer.
Some reports suggest she suffered a fracture, though no further details were provided.
Local authorities confirmed today (13 Mar) that the case is under investigation, as reported by Need To Know.
Online, one viewer wrote: “Don’t worry, she’s fine. She wasn’t seriously hurt – only the metal frame got bent. She landed on her stomach, probably breaking a rib.
“I was directly underneath her and almost got hit myself. If she had landed on me, I could have taken the impact like a cushion and she wouldn’t have broken anything.”
Another added: “If they’d used a transparent safety rope or put a mat underneath, she probably wouldn’t have been hurt.”
And a third commented: “These rural troupes love high-altitude stunts. It’s all cliché, not really exciting, and extremely dangerous.
“People in Beijing all know how to rig a wire safely.”
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