The Cirque de Soleil acrobatics circus family are mourning one of their own after a tragic accident at the weekend.
Thirty-one-year-old acrobatic performer Sarah Guyard-Guillot died at the age of 31 as she took part in the show’s Final Battle scene.
The Paris-born performer slipped from her safety wire and plummeted about 50 feet to the ground, the Las Vegas Sun reports.
“(The artist) was being hoisted up the side of the stage and then just plummeted down,” witness Dan Mosqueda told the paper.
“Initially, a lot of people in the audience thought it was part of the choreographed fight. But you could hear screaming, then groaning, and we could hear a female artist crying from the stage.”
Sarah Guyard-Guillot is being reported as the first death in the 30-year-history of the worldwide performance franchise.
No formal cause of death has been determined. Sarah had been an acrobat for 22 years and joined the “Ka” crew in 2004.
“The entire Cirque du Soleil family is deeply saddened by the accidental death of Sarah (Sassoon) Guyard… that happened on Saturday, June 29, in Las Vegas,” a statement from the Cirque de Soleil read.
“The artist’s immediate family has been informed of the accident. Our thoughts are with her family and the entire Cirque du Soleil family.”
“I am heartbroken. I wish to extend my sincerest sympathies to the family,” Founder of the circus Guy Laliberte said.
“We are all completely devastated with this news. Sassoon was an artist with the original cast of Ka since 2006 and has been an integral part of our Cirque du Soleil tight family.
“We are reminded, with great humility and respect, how extraordinary our artists are each and every night. Our focus now is to support each other as a family.”
An investigation into the accident has begun.
