--- description: During a performance in which eight women hang by their hair, a metal apparatus came free and sent the performers plummeting to the ground title: Circus Accident Injures Hair-Hanging Acrobats at Ringling Bros. image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f62262e27f9bbb/69868dcfcd804d6043ccaaeb/ap821057056103.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Accidents](/tag/accidents/) ## Accidents Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 9 Acrobats Seriously Injured in Circus Accident  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 4, 2014 8:00 PM CUT  An injured female performer is lifted onto a stretcher and is taken out of the building at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, May 4, 2014, in Providence, R.I. An injured female performer is lifted onto a stretcher and is taken out of the building at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, May 4, 2014, in Providence, R.I.Bob Breidenbach—Providence Journal/AP  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 4, 2014 8:00 PM CUT _Updated: Monday, 7:24 a.m. ET_ At least three performers remain in critical condition after an aerial platform collapsed and injured nine people during a circus routine in Providence, Rhode Island, on Sunday. Eight female performers fell some 25 to 40 ft. to the ground, injuring another dancer below, the Associated Press reports, during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus’ Legends act that has performers twirling by the hair “like a human chandelier.” A spokesman for the circus’ parent company said the metal structure from which the acrobats were suspended broke free from its truss, although Providence’s public-safety commissioner said authorities have not officially determined the cause of the accident. Earlier, the commissioner said none of the injuries appeared life-threatening. A spokesperson for the Rhode Island Hospital in Providence told the AP on Sunday the hospital admitted 11 people with varying injuries, with one person in critical condition. The Dunkin’ Donuts Center, where the performance was taking place, put two additional shows scheduled for Sunday on hold as well as the two planned for Monday. An audience member apparently captured footage of the accident on a cell phone, which was later published on YouTube. The video isn’t graphic, but it does contain some strong language: \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/acrobats-fall-accident-rhode-island-circus "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/87266/acrobats-circus-accident/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/87266/acrobats-circus-accident/"},"headline":"9 Acrobats Seriously Injured in Circus Accident","datePublished":"2014-05-04T20:00:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:38:47.867Z","description":"At least three performers remain in critical condition after a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus act on Sunday went awry, injuring nine people","url":"https://time.com/87266/acrobats-circus-accident/","keywords":["Accidents"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f62262e27f9bbb/69868dcfcd804d6043ccaaeb/ap821057056103.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f62262e27f9bbb/69868dcfcd804d6043ccaaeb/ap821057056103.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An injured female performer is lifted onto a stretcher and is taken out of the building at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, May 4, 2014, in Providence, R.I.","caption":"An injured female performer is lifted onto a stretcher and is taken out of the building at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, May 4, 2014, in Providence, R.I.","creditText":"Bob Breidenbach—Providence Journal/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/accidents/","name":"Accidents"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/87266/acrobats-circus-accident/","name":"9 Acrobats Seriously Injured in Circus Accident"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Circus Acrobats in Critical Condition After Peformance Accident","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/8CMRd3Kl/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-05T15:22:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8CMRd3Kl.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/87266/acrobats-circus-accident/","duration":"PT1M17S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/87266/acrobats-circus-accident/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```