Nine Acrobats Seriously Injured After Falling at Rhode Island Circus

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By Karissa Bell2014-05-04 18:29:53 UTC

Nine acrobats have sustained serious injuries after falling between 25 and 40 feet during a performance at a Rhode Island circus.

The accident occurred at 11:45 a.m., local time, at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus' Legends show at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, when several performers fell from an aerial platform. Alleged video of the fall can be seen, above (at around the 40 second mark).

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Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare told the AP that the injuries were not life-threatening, and that the cause of the accident has yet to be determined. "Obviously, something went wrong," he said.

Roman Garcia, the show's general manager, said all of the injured performers are conscious, and the accident occurred during the "hair hang" performance, when acrobats hang by their hair.

The Providence police department did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment.

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Topics: rhode island circus, U.S., US & World