Cirque temporarily modifies Vegas show after fall

[November 06, 2013]  LAS VEGAS (AP) --  Cirque du Soleil officials say they've temporarily removed the "Wheel of Death" stunt from one of their Las Vegas Strip shows after an acrobat was injured while performing on it over the weekend.

Cirque spokeswoman Ann Paladie said Tuesday that the company expects the artist to be released from the hospital shortly.

The unidentified male acrobat was performing in "Zarkana" at the Aria Resort and Casnio on Friday when he slipped and fell off the wheel.

The act features two people who perform high-risk feats atop and inside a pair of spinning wheels rotating high above the stage. Paladie says the wheel has been replaced with an aerial strap act.

The accident happened four months after a Cirque acrobat died in a fall during a performance of the show "Ka" at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

[Associated Press]

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