Circus Performer Hospitalized After Horrifying Fall from Tightrope onto Metal Floor: ‘Her Leg Gave Way’

Mar. 15, 2025

A circus performer has been hospitalized with serious injuries after falling from a tightrope.

The woman sustained “serious injuries” while performing an act during a circus show held at Glyne Gap Field in East Sussex, England, on Monday, Aug. 19, the South East Coast Ambulance Service (Seacamb) confirmed to PEOPLE.

In footage posted of the incident, perCBS News, the performer stood on a chair between two other artists on a tightrope roughly 16 feet in the air. She then slowly sat on the back of the chair and lowered her legs to the sides. As she leaned forward, she appeared to lose her footing and fell to the floor.

Seacamb said in a statement to PEOPLE that they “were called at 4.45 p.m. on Monday that a person had fallen from height."

The woman injured was part of a High Wire Troupe act from Columbia performing with Gravity Circus, according toBBC News.

Hayley Welsh, who attended the circus show and witnessed the fall, told the outlet, “It looked like her leg gave way. She lost balance and went flying down wrapped around the wire. She smashed down onto the metal floor."

Gravity Circus posted an update on the incident in the comment section of theirFacebookpage, and said the woman is “doing well” and “recovering in hospital.”

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Tightrope Performer.Getty

Getty

“We can confirm that an accident occurred last night involving one of our tightrope performers during the show," the company said in a statement to PEOPLE.

“In live entertainment and high-risk performances, accidents can unfortunately happen despite stringent safety measures. Our emergency protocols were immediately enacted, and the performer was promptly taken to the hospital.”

The company added that its “primary concern is the wellbeing of the performer, the high wire troupe, and our entire circus family” and that a “thorough investigation" is being held.

source: people.com