Horsman was on tour with Criss Angel.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: A Baltimore-based escape artist nearly drowned while rehearsing a stunt for a national tour with renowned illusionist Criss Angel.
In a video that was first uploaded to YouTube before being picked up by local news outlets, Angel and his crew can be seen desperately rushing to pull a shackled, unconscious Spencer Horsman from a water tank that was suspended by chains about 30 feet above the stage.
Crewmembers could be frantically yelling, “Get him down,” before Horsman, who gained national recognition on the television program, “America’s Got Talent,” was freed.
“This was unusual, this was a first, he’s never done it this far,” his father, Ken Horsman, informed CBS Baltimore.
Horsman was practicing the stunt for Criss Angel’s most ambitious stage show to date, one that unites nine different magicians from around the world, each with a different specialty. Angel is slated to make appearances during each performance via video feed from Las Vegas, reported the Daily News.
“There’s a big danger factor in anything he does like this. People just think he’s sitting in a tank of water,” said Ken Horsman. “Anything can happen. You’re holding your breath. Take the breath at the wrong time, anything can happen,” he continued.
Spencer’s father said he was exhausted from rehearsing, which caught up to him in the tank while trying to escape. The 29-year-old illusionist can spend up to 16 hours straight rehearsing for certain stunts.
Since the heart pounding incident, Ken said his son is recovering and is in doing “just fine,” and despite the close call, will not be nixing the trick from his upcoming performances.