Gymnast Dies After Falling From Wheel of Death During Circus Rehearsal

A circus artist died during a rehearsal at the Magnitogorsk circus in Russia's Chelyabinsk region. The 22-year-old woman fell from the Wheel of Death rotating apparatus.

The tragedy occurred on May 17. Several circus performers were rehearsing on the wheel without safety harnesses. A woman named Viktoria slipped and fell from a height of four meters, landing on her back.

Medics were called to the circus, but they were unable to save her — Viktoria died in the ambulance.

A criminal case was filed into violation of occupational safety requirements.

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Magnitogorsk (Russian: Магнитого́рск, lit. '[city] of the magnetic mountain') is an industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Its population is currently 410,594 (2021 Census). Magnitogorsk was named after Mount Magnitnaya, a geological anomaly that once consisted almost completely of iron ore, around 55% to 60% iron. It is the second-largest city in Russia that is not the administrative centre of any federal subject or district. Magnitogorsk contains the largest iron and steel works in the country: Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. The official motto of the city is "the place where Europe and Asia meet", as the city occupies land in both Europe and Asia. Magnitogorsk is one of only two planned socialist realist settlements ever built (the other being Nowa Huta in Poland).