A Cirque du Soleil aerialist has died after falling from a great height to the stage during a show in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Yann Arnaud, 38, was in the middle of a performance involving aerial straps on Saturday when he fell. He was transported to hospital quickly, but later died.
“It is with immense sadness that Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group reports that a tragic accident occurred last night, March 17, during a performance of its show Volta, in Tampa, Florida,” Cirque du Soleil wrote in an official statement about the incident.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that the incident occurred at about 10pm, when Arnaud lost his grip on the aerial straps and fell “a dozen or so feet to the stage.”
In an interview with a Florida radio station, one attendee said that Arnaud was “visibly straining to hold onto the rope,” and that several acrobats seem to have been concerned about the situation before he fell.
The famed circus took to social media to confirm Arnaud’s death, and announced that further performances of their current touring show Volta in Tampa Bay were cancelled.
— Cirque du Soleil (@Cirque) March 18, 2018
