Tumble from tightrope injures 5, including Wallendas

According to authorities, five lost their balance and tumbled to the ground.

All three brought to Sarasota Memorial Hospital are expected to survive, said Dr. Alan Brockhurst, the trauma medical director.

Pedro Reis, founder and CEO of the Sarasota Circus Arts Conservatory, which puts on the show, said during a news conference Wednesday that nothing was wrong with the rigging but that some performers lost their balance.

In previous daredevil performances — such as crossing a tightrope stretched across the Little Colorado River Gorge near the Grand Canyon — Nik Wallenda did not use a safety net or tether.

Much of the reason there are so many circus performers in the area is due to the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus making its home in the Gulf Coast city during the winter, starting 90 years ago.

The Wallendas trace their roots to 1780 in Austria-Hungary, when their ancestors traveled as a band of acrobats, aerialists, jugglers, animal trainers and a bit later, trapeze artists.