LAS VEGAS — Nevada OSHA has finished its investigation into the death of Sarah Guillot-Guyard, the Cirque du Soleil performer who fell 94 feet during the climactic scene of Ka on June 29 and later died. OSHA determined that accident happened when the wire rope she was suspended from broke. According to the report, the wire rope “was severed due to the rapid ascent of the performer, ultimately causing the rope to be freed from the sheave/pulley and scraping against a shear point.”
OSHA officials cited Cirque du Soleil with six proposed citations and more than $25,000 in fines and MGM Grand with three citations and a $7,000 fine. Cirque du Soleil and MGM are appealing the fines.
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Shortly after the details about OSHA’s investigation was reported, a performer in Cirque du Soleil’s Zarkana at the Aria in Las Vegas slipped and fell during the show’s “Wheel of Death” sequence, with the device that resembles twin wheels affixed to the ends of a large rotating strut. The Nov. 1 show was stopped and the performer was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
