5 injured in high-wire fall at Florida circus
Five performers were injured on Wednesday after they plunged at least 25 feet from a high wire during circus rehearsal in Sarasota, Florida.
According to a tweet from the Sarasota County government, four of them were listed as trauma patients.
SCFD units responded to High wire incident at Circus Sarasota. 5 injuried, 4 of those Trauma alerts. pic.twitter.com/On5OLq288H
— SarasotaCountyGov (@SRQCountyGov) February 8, 2017
The accident happened while eight performers were practicing for the Circus Sarasota's Friday show.
Once performer lost balance, but the rigging did not collapse, Reis said. It is not clear if there was a safety net in place at the time.
Dr. Alan Brockhurst, medical director of the trauma center at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, said all three trauma patients are expected to survive.
The performers suffered mostly orthopedic injuries, and there was one traumatic brain injury, Brockhurst told CNN.
"They're extremely lucky, given the high of the fall that they survived," he added.
Nik Wallenda, a well-known daredevil, was one of three performers on the wire who were not injured in the fall, according to Pedro Reis, founder and CEO of the Circus Arts Conservatory
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