Acrobat In Russia Plunges 12 Feet To the Ground After Trapeze Stunt Goes Wrong

A circus acrobat in Russia fell some 12 feet to the ground in a horrific accident witnessed by several families with children. Elizaveta Chumakova, 24, was performing in Novosibirsk, Russia when she slipped from a trapeze ring while hanging upside down by her feet, Metro reported. She had pivoted to fall feet first but crashed heavily to the ground and lay motionless in front of the terrified audience. 

Circus staff rushed to her aid and she was taken out of the circus ring to hospital on a stretcher. There was no safety net in place to break her fall, but Elizaveta was said to have still been conscious as she was taken to hospital.

Here's the video:

La gimnasta se cayó del ring y cayó desde una altura en Novosibirsk. El incidente ocurrió durante el espectáculo del "Circo Real de Gia Eradze".

Elizaveta Chumakova, de Tatarstán, de 25 años, realizó un truco sin seguro, pero no pudo permanecer en el split. La niña fue… pic.twitter.com/ktjWD9UBIF

— aapayés (@aapayes) March 16, 2024

A spokesperson for the Gia Eradze circus said: ‘'She is in the First City Hospital. Doctors are taking care of her. But so far no accurate diagnoses have been given. She is in touch with us. So far, all the circumstances are being clarified.''

She is said to have suffered fractures to her hip and foot but miraculously her injuries were not 'life-threatening'.

The spokesperson added that she has worked in the circus for ten years and it is her first fall.

The circus issued a quote from her as she lay in hospital saying she had fallen when her 'favourite' left foot failed as she sought to grab the ring with her hand.

She reassured her fans: ''It wasn't too high… I am alive.''

In a similar incident last year, a circus show in Great Yarmouth had to be abandoned after an acrobat fell 33 feet while performing a stunt, BBC reported. The acrobat, aged in his 20s, was riding the ''giant wheel of death'' apparatus at the Hippodrome Circus in Great Yarmouth evening when the fall happened.

The show, which was watched by an audience of adults and children, was stopped immediately and the police and ambulance service were called.