Tight rope walker’s gruesome final seconds as he fell to his death death between two skyscrapers

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Known for his daredevil antics of walking tightropes and risking his life, it was during a promotional video that the adventurer suddenly fell to his death from atop a skyscraper

Professional high-wire artist and circus performer Karl Wallenda had risked his life for years before he plummeted to his death after struggling to gain his balance, 121 feet about the ground.

Karl was 73 when he died after living a life full of danger.

The German-American adrenaline junkie was attempting a brutal walk between the two towers of the renowned ten-storey building, the Condado Plaza Hotel, in Puerto Rico – a walk that saw plenty of eyes on him. He was walking strategically along a wire that stretched 121 feet from the pavement, but the weather was working against him.

Viewers watched on as the wind picked up, and despite his expertise, Wallenda couldn’t fight the high winds. This incident, paired with an ‘improperly secured’ wire, meant that he lost his balance and fell as his body struck a taxi. It wasn’t until he arrived at the hospital that the tightrope walker was pronounced dead, although it’s presumed he died at the scene.

Most television outlets didn’t air the tragic moment, but a film crew was present during the walk from a local San Juan station, WAPA-TV, who filmed the entire incident. His sudden death unfolded on camera, with the narration of the local anchorman Guillermo José Torres.

Wallenda was remembered for his lasting legacy within the circus community as the founder of The Flying Wallendas, a circus troupe who performed the most jaw-droppingly dangerous stunts high up in the air, typically with no safety nets in place.

The group was known all across Europe, specifically for their impressive four-man pyramid and tendency to cycle along a high wire. In the late 1920s they moved their act to the US, and by the 1940s they had developed an unequalled three-tier seven-man pyramid.

Although, Wallenda wasn’t the first of his loved ones to die to the art of the tightrope walk. In 1978, a TV documentary featuring Karl explains the group’s comeback all these years on after losing several family members during live performances.

Except, just 38 days after it was first broadcast, Karl fell to his own death after decades of tightrope walking.

Karl was a huge influence within the group he had founded and was also a world-record holder, a record which he achieved aged 69. He broke the world skywalk distance record of 1,800 feet at Kings Island, which was later beaten by his own great-grandson, Nick Wallenda, in 2008.

Nick is keen to continue the family’s legacy, despite all of its death and trauma, and has carried on with his stunt performances on high wire, at times now, wearing a safety harness.