11 hurt in circus accident in U.S.

Eight performers fell when the hair-hang apparatus -- which holds performers by their hair -- failed, Payne added. Another performer was injured on the ground, he said. Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said the performers fell from between 25 to 35 feet, CNN reports. Many of the injured people suffered broken bones, and no spectators were hurt, Pare said. The performers were among 11 people hospitalized with injuries related to the accident, Rhode Island Hospital spokeswoman Jill Reuter told CNN. One of those people was listed in critical condition, Reuter said. It was not immediately clear who the other victims were. Multiple emergency units responded to the accident at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Eyewitnesses told CNN affiliate WPRI that they saw acrobats up on a type of aerial scaffolding doing a "human chandelier" when a cable snapped. "We thought that was a part of the performance," Sean Bergeron, a 23-year-old Marine at the circus with his girlfriend, told CNN. "About 35 seconds afterwards, you were like, 'No, that's not!' " People started screaming loudly and "going crazy," Bergeron said. Full story