Cirque du Soleil performer dies after fall during a performance

An acrobat who fell some 20 feet during a Tampa Cirque du Soleil performance Saturday night has died from his injuries.

Around 9:52 p.m. during the Saturday Volta show, veteran aerialist Yann Arnaud lost his grip on an aerial ring and fell to the stage, a video reviewed by the Tampa Bay Times showed.

At the time of the fall, Arnaud and another performer were conducting a complex routine that involved the acrobats swinging back and forth over the stage. The men, each holding onto a gymnastic ring suspended by a rope, interlocked arms as the ring ropes wound around one another. When the ropes unwound, the acrobats swung to opposite ends of the performance space. As gravity brought them back toward the center of the arena, Arnaud lost his grip and plunged to the stage.

The show immediately stopped so medical professionals could tend to the injured performer. Arnaud was transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he died early Sunday, a hospital spokeswoman confirmed.

Cirque du Soleil announced in a statement Sunday that the rest of its Tampa performances would be cancelled. Volta’s run at the Tampa Greyhound Track began Feb. 14 and was to end Sunday.

“The entire Cirque du Soleil family is in shock and devastated by this tragedy,” Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group said in the statement. “Yann had been with us for over 15 years and was loved by all who had the chance to know him.”

Cirque du Soleil added that it would further investigate the incident. The Tampa Police Department is also investigating the incident, although a department spokesman said in a statement that the fall appeared to be accidental.

According to his Facebook profile, Arnaud, 38, was from Champigny-sur-Marne, France, and lived in Miami. Other social media posts indicated he had a wife and daughter.