Philadelphia

Trapeze Artist Recovering After 30-Foot Plunge Into Crowd During Stunt in Philadelphia

A trapezist who plunged three stories into the audience at a Philadelphia circus performance Saturday night is expected to make a full recovery.

The performer, Chenglong Wu, 19, remained hospitalized in stable condition on Sunday. Wu was performing a 4 p.m. show for the UniverSoul Circus near the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in West Philadelphia's Parkside section when his high-flying stunt went awry.

Wu's act includes midair flips and jumps, video posted to the circus' website shows.

Witnesses posting to social media Saturday said Wu fell 30 feet into a safety net after a partner failed to catch him during a stunt. Wu then bounced out of the net and into the first row of the crowd.

Rosie Amor and her young daughter were sitting in the section next to where Wu landed. She said it appeared Wu tried to hold onto the net, but the force of the fall pulled him out.

"The sound of him falling to the ground made my stomach hurt," she said. "It was horrifying. All the children were watching."

Wu suffered a lower back injury and was taken by ambulance to nearby Penn Presbyterian Trauma Center.

There were no injuries in the audience.

Several people got up and left the show, according to Amor. The show resumed about 10 minutes after Wu was taken out.

"I felt like at that point they should have canceled the show," she said. "It's like they scraped him up from the ground and kept going with the show."

The circus, which features animal acts, acrobatics and pyrotechnic stunts, had three performances scheduled for Saturday. The accident happened during the second show. It is scheduled to be in Philadelphia through Nov. 15, but it was unclear on Sunday whether performances would continue immediately as scheduled.

Police and the circus continued to investigate the incident.

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