Insane Blaine weak under water

2006-05-06 19:25

New York - American illusionist David Blaine, who has been submerged in a water-filled sphere in New York since Monday, is growing weak and will receive medical attention over the weekend.

Blaine's spokesperson Pat Smith said: "Doctors are concerned that he's weakening. They are going to work with him through the weekend, trying to stabilise both his diet and his training regimen.

"His skin is peeling very badly on his hands. Those are our biggest concerns right now."

Smith said Blaine, 33, is "telling the people 'I feel great', and he's determined to see his seven-day stunt through to the end".

Prolonged submersion for the length of time proposed by Blaine poses a number of hazards, including nerve damage, blackouts, sleep deprivation and skin problems.

The magician lowered himself into a 2.5m high acrylic sphere filled with water in the plaza of the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts on Monday.

He plans to remain submerged for seven days.

He will be dropped right back in again

"My only fear is the unknown," he said before descending into the transparent sphere in front of several hundred people.

He said the world would see something "pretty insane" if his plan went wrong.

A mask and an air line are keeping Blaine alive. Sustenance is provided in the form of liquid nutrition through a tube.

Blaine said that, when the week is up, he would come out and be handcuffed, wrapped in 68kg of metal chains and dropped back inside the sphere.

He plans to hold his breath for nine minutes while escaping from the chains.

The world record for a human holding his breath is eight minutes, 58 seconds.

Previous Blaine stunts have included being encased in ice for 62 hours, being suspended above London's River Thames in a glass box for 44 days, and spending 35 hours on a 30m high pillar that was only 56cm wide.

- AFP