Cirque Du Soleil Accident: Acrobat Sarah Guyard-Guillot Falls To Death During Vegas Show

There was a fatal Cirque Du Soleil accident today during a show in Las Vegas.

Acrobat Sarah Guyard-Guillot was performing at Cirque du Soleil’s “Ka” at the MGM Grand when she reportedly slipped out of her safety wire and fell nearly 50 feet to her death. The 31-year-old acrobat was taken to the University Medical Center but was pronounced dead on Saturday night.

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte said: “I am heartbroken. I wish to extend my sincerest sympathies to the family. We are all completely devastated with this news. Sassoon was an artist with the original cast of K? since 2006 and has been an integral part of our Cirque du Soleil tight family. We are reminded, with great humility and respect, how extraordinary our artists are each and every night. Our focus now is to support each other as a family.”

Guyard-Guillot had more than 20-years experience as an acrobatic performer and had been in the cast of “Ka” since production began in 2006.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that the incident occurred at the end of the show on Saturday night. Guyard-Guillot was ascending to the top of the stage during the show’s closing battle scene when she slipped free of harness and dropped into the pit below.

Dan Mosqueda, who was in witnessed the Cirque Du Soleil accident, told CBS: “Initially, a lot of people in the audience thought it was part of the (show)… But you could hear screaming, then groaning, and we could hear a female artist crying from the stage.”

The show was canceled after the incident and an announcement was made informing the crowd that they would be able to get refunds for their tickets. All performances of “Ka” have been canceled for the time being.

People Magazine reports that this is the first fatal Cirque Du Soleil accident in the company’s 30-year history.