A circus in war-torn Ukraine suffered a double disaster after two child acrobats plunged 12 feet during an aerial act, just days after a bear furiously attacked their guide.
A 15-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl crashed into the illuminated ring as they were watched by a horrified audience of children and parents.
The circus artist “lost control” and, without a safety net, both fell during their performance at the circus in the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Horror footage captured the two children swinging from a thick rope in a circle around the stage while the girl clung to the boy’s leg.
As they approached to complete a full loop, the boy suddenly let go of the rope and the pair fell to the hard floor, apparently hitting the corner of the stage.
Two child acrobats were performing an aerial act at a Ukrainian circus before the boy “lost control” of the rope.
The two boys crashed 12 feet toward the stage after the boy’s hands came loose from the rope.
The couple could be seen on their backs on the ground after the horrific fall.
The force with which they hit the ground caused them to bounce, before leaving the two child artists face up before the video stopped.
The boy suffered a broken leg in the fall and the girl suffered a concussion, local newspaper Informator reported.
Both children are currently in hospital under observation following the circus disaster.
Hospital head Yuri Borzenko said: “They are conscious. They are in intensive care, as a precaution.
‘The girl suffered a concussion, she complains of a headache.
‘The boy has broken both legs. There is no damage to internal organs.’
Due to the fall of horror, a criminal case was opened to check whether health and safety regulations were violated.
Just a few days earlier, in the same circus in the city of Zaporizhzhia, a brown bear furiously attacked a trainer in front of spectators.
The trainer had given the bear a “treat” before the beast turned on him.
An onlooker’s footage captured the moment the brown creature jumped on its hind legs and lunged towards the keeper in the shock attack.
Days earlier, at the same circus, a trainer was attacked by a bear after giving it a treat during a performance.
The images captured the moment the animal opened the artist’s shirt while he was fighting the animal.
The trio eventually got the bear back down from its standing position, but it could be seen shaking angrily.
The bear tore the man’s shirt with its claws, leaving large holes in the material as the trainer struggled to control the animal.
The bear can be seen shaking furiously as it sits back down on all fours, shaking its head furiously as the trainer tries to calm it down by pulling on a rope tied to the animal’s snout.
An onlooker said: ‘The bear attacked a trainer at the Zaporizhzhia circus.
‘It just happened during the performance.
“Thank God no one was seriously hurt.”
Bears and other animals continue to be used in circuses in former Soviet countries, including Ukraine and Russia.
The city of Zaporizhzhia is the capital of a region of the same name that is divided by Vladimir Putin’s invasion, with part of the territory controlled by Ukraine and another by Russia.
The shocking accidents in Ukraine come after hundreds of spectators were forced to watch in horror after a circus performer fell from the ‘Wheel of Death’ at Blackpool Tower on Saturday.
The crowd was evacuated when emergency services rushed to the scene after one of the two performers fell from the apparatus while performing the dangerous stunt involving a rotating beam.
A spokesperson for Blackpool Tower told MailOnline that the performer was “recovering well” after being treated for a “minor wrist injury” during the rehearsed maneuver.
