A video posted by Gawker on Thursday and which has since gone viral showed a trapeze artist in a Moscow circus fall 85 feet to the ground while in the midst of his act. The performer appears to have landed in a safety net, which seems not to have functioned as intended. The Kenyan trapeze artist, whose name is Karo Christopher Kazungu, did survive the fall. He is said to be recuperating and hoping to return to work with the circus soon. Click here to watch the video on Gawker.
The 22-year-old trapeze artist was one of a dozen Russian and Kenyan artists participating in the show. They were performing this past March at a circus in Moscow and nearing the end of his routine when he lost his grip on the bar. He fell 85 feet, through a safety net, and hit the ground below. First responders arrived on the scene immediately and attended to him. He was said to have been conscious when he was taken to the hospital, where it was discovered that he had suffered a fractured vertebrae.
According to CBS News, the director general of the Great Moscow State Circus, Edgard Zapashny, said that the German-made safety net had been rigorously tested before it was used. Employees have speculated as to whether it may have been tampered with. Zapashny dismissed the idea, saying that upon first inspection no signs of sabotage had been found. He also told Russian television that the circus had never had any previous incidents of this kind.
The fall occurred at the Moscow State Circus, which dates back to the Soviet period. The Circus was nationalized in 1919 and became known abroad for its acts; they even traveled in the United States during the Cold War. A series of auditoriums in Moscow serve as the permanent venue.
In 2007 there was a push to privatize the Circus which reportedly met opposition from the performers.
iScience Times wrote that at the time of impact with the floor, Kazungu was falling at a rate of 250 feet per second.
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