Aerial acrobats seriously injured in fall after platform collapses during US circus performance

Nine acrobats were seriously injured when a platform collapsed during an aerial hair-hanging act during a circus performance filmed by spectators in Rhode Island, in the United States. All performers in the act received immediate medical attention and were transported to a local hospital for further care," Feld Entertainment said in a statement. The circus's website describes the Medeiros Troupe as "hairialists" from the US, Brazil, Bulgaria and Ukraine who "perform a combination of choreography and cut-ups including spinning, hanging from hoops, and rolling down wrapped silks, all while being suspended 35 feet in the air by their hair alone". Feld Entertainment spokesman Stephen Payne told CNN that "something went very wrong," noting that the apparatus had been used 12 to 14 times a week for months.