Cirque du Soleil Fined $25K for Death of Las Vegas Acrobat

Reuters reports that Cirque du Soleil is being fined $25,235 for safety violations after one of its KA acrobats - Sarah Guillot-Guyard - fell 94 feet to her death in June.

Read the original story here.

The Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued six citations after a four-month investigation following Guillot-Guyard's fatal accident.

That night in June, Guillot-Guyard was quickly ascending the vertical stage in the final battle scene of KA when "the wire rope attaching her to a safety harness scraped against suspension equipment and was detached."

The Cirque du Soleil citations include inadequate equipment training and a fall protection program that did not meet state safety standards.

Nevada OSHA also fined the Las Vegas MGM Grand, where KA was performed, for $7,000 for subjecting its employees to workplace hazards as a result of the show.

Cirque du Soleil and MGM are appealing the citations; they have 15 days from the time they were notified.

A mother of two, Guillot-Guyard was 31. She was born in Paris and graduated from the Annie Fratellini Art & Circus Academy. Guillot-Guyard performed as an acrobat and aerialist for 22 years and was the head coach of CirqueFit, Cirque du Soleil's exercise program for kids.

This was the first fatality resulting from an onstage accident in Cirque du Soleil's 30-year history.