A female trapeze gymnast has been killed in a horrific freak accident after a four inch metallic line-lock spun off and hit her in the head.
The object, designed to ensure tautness, struck Elena Kustova “like a giant bullet” during slackline training in Moscow.
Another acrobat was on a 13ft high wire when the object suddenly broke away and hit the mum-of-one as she walking under the apparatus.
Medics tried for an hour to save the 38-year-old but she died at the scene.
It was the first time the line-lock had been used after it was bought online.
Elena had been a coach to a trapeze gymnast who was severely wounded in a widely reported tragic accident last year.
Evgenia Asonova fell from 25ft during an aerial gymnastics competition in Riga, caught on video, in which she suffered appalling spinal injuries.
She is currently struggling to walk with crutches and was distraught over the death of her coach.
The 30-year-old said: "It is so hard to believe."
A criminal investigation will examine if the line-lock was faulty or fixed incorrectly.
Elena had been a single mum raising her 11-year-old daughter Annabella, say reports.
Dmitry Ivanov, a friend of the dead woman, said the Russian Investigative Committee are examining the equipment.
“We will also run our own tests,” he said.
