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9 Critically Injured in Ringling Bros. Circus Accident
Acrobats fell nearly 30 feet in the accident in Rhode Island during Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performance Sunday morning.
PROVIDENCE, RI - Twenty people were injured, nine critically, after acrobats fell nearly 30 feet during a circus performance Sunday morning.
The accident occurred during the 11 a.m. performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The 3 p.m show Sunday afternoon was canceled.
The Providence Journal is reporting that Ringling’s Legends Tour General Manager Roman Garcia said everyone injured is conscious, but asks “everybody [to] pray for the girls,” in a news conference Sunday afternoon. Garcia said the accident happened during a hair-hanging act.
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WARNING, this may be difficult to watch: Video of the accident >>>
A spokesman for the parent company of Ringling Bros. told WHDH,7-News that eight of the injured acrobats fell 25 to 40 feet.
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North Kingstown, RI resident Sydney Bragg, who witnessed the accident, told WHDH, 7-News that the collapse happened about an hour and a half into the show and the platform began to fall. She told the TV station she thought it was part of the act.
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