'Human chandelier' falls: 9 performers hurt in Rhode Island circus accident
May-05-2014

The curtain drops to reveal women hanging by their hair. Leotards are in perfect place -- toes pointed, smiles on.

The music kicks in on cue, and then suddenly -- horrifyingly -- what's known as the "human chandelier" plummets to the ground.

"I screamed. I'm like, that's not right," Chelie Barrie, a spectator, told CNN affiliate WPRI. "You know, sometimes you're surprised and it's part of the show, but this clearly wasn't."

Nine performers were injured Sunday in Providence, Rhode Island, said Steve Payne, spokesman for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Eight performers fell when the hair-hang apparatus -- which holds performers by their hair -- failed, Payne said. Another performer was injured on the ground, he added.

Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said the performers fell from between 25 to 35 feet.

Many of those injured suffered broken bones, and no spectators were hurt, Pare said.

The performers were among 11 people hospitalized with injuries related to the accident, Rhode Island Hospital spokeswoman Jill Flaxington told CNN. One of those people was listed in critical condition, Flaxington said.

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