Chinese acrobat who lost his wife in terrifying on-stage fall seriously injured in second performance incident

Hong Kong CNN —

A Chinese acrobat who lost his wife and performance partner to a terrifying fall on stage last year was seriously injured in another show this week, state media reported.

Zhang Kai, 39, plunged several meters to a hard cement ground while performing an aerial silks routine on Monday night, after two pieces of fabric he was holding broke loose from the top of a crane.

The horrific moment was captured by Zhang’s own livestream of his performance in Henan province on Douyin, the sister app of TikTok in China, according to the state-run Xiaoxiang Morning Herald.

Zhang, who suffered injuries to his face and leg fractures, was out of life-threatening danger as of Wednesday but remained in the intensive care unit, his family told the Chengdu Business Daily, another state-owned newspaper.

Zhang’s late wife, surnamed Sun, fell to her death during an aerial silks performance with her husband in a village in Anhui province in April last year, sparking horror and outcry on social media over the lack of safety measures for performers.

This screengrab shows the two acrobats being lifted into position during an aerial silks performance in China's central Anhui province moments before the fatal fall.

Related article Chinese acrobat falls to her death during mid-air performance with husband

Online footage of that incident showed the couple being pulled high into the air by a crane above a large outdoor stage. As they swung in mid-air, Sun wrapped her arms around her husband’s head and hung off him during a transition act. But she lost her grip and plunged to the hard stage amid screams from the crowd. Zhang attempted to catch her with his legs but failed, the footage showed.

The tragedy caused shock on Chinese