A 31-year old performer slipped out of her safety harness and plunged to her death Saturday night during a Las Vegas show by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Paras-born Sarah Guyillot-Guyard was being hoisted up a vertical stage along with other performers when the accident happened.
The show was immediately stopped as fellow performers rushed off the stage in tears. The performance run has been halted and tickets are being refunded.
In this Nov. 28, 2008, photo, Sarah Guyard-Guillot, left, and Sami Tiaumassi perform as “Forest People” during Cirque du Soleil’s “Ka” in Las Vegas. Credit: Leila Navidi/Associated Press
This is the first death to occur during a performance in three decades although another artist died in rehearsal in 2000.
One acrobat miscalculated a jump in 2007 and fell 12 metres but was caught by the ringmaster and avoided injury.
Guyillot-Guyard had been a circus performer since she was nine and leaves behind two small children.
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