Chinese Tightrope Walker Survives High-Wire Fall
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(LONDON) — A Chinese acrobat attempting to walk both backwards and blindfolded across a high-wire tightrope saw his death-defying feat come to a nearly death-inducing end when he slipped just a few feet from the end of his walk.
The acrobat, Aisikaier, fell from a more than 600-foot high tightrope while crossing a ravine in Hunan Province, according to the BBC, relaying a report from China State television channel CCTV.
Holding only a 19-foot pole to help guide him, Aisikaier, a sixth-generation performer, had been walking across the rope for nearly 50 minutes when he lost his balance. He fell just 131 feet short of completing the nearly 2,300-foot distance, the BBC reports.
According to reports, Aisikaier avoided any serious injuries because his fall was broken by trees and bushes on the side of the slope. He was seen in video footage walking back up the side of the ravine after his fall.
The daredevil said he lost his balance because he felt faint at the end of the walk and was struck by wind, according to the UK’s The Telegraph.
Aisikaier would have set a new world record if he had accomplished the feat, according to China Central Television.
Last month daredevil Nik Wallenda completed a 1,500-foot-walk on a two-inch-wide wire suspended nearly 200 feet in the air for to become the first person to traverse Niagara Falls on a high wire. The feat took him a little more than 25 minutes to complete.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio