Daredevil David Blaine has accomplished yet with another stunt by ascending nearly 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) into the Arizona sky while holding onto a cluster of giant balloons before parachuting safely back to the ground.
While lifting from the base of the airstrip, Blaine said, "It's like magic, it feels like I'm floating in the air," on the radio to his team on the ground in Page, Arizona. He described the event of the unison of dozens of balloons as “ascension".
Blaine ascended to the sky while dropping small weights to increase the speed and managed to reach nearly 24,900 feet before parachuting back to the ground.
The 47-year-old is known for his risky performances of endurance. His major stunts include locking himself in a fishbowl, trapping himself in a block of ice for two days in Times Square, and standing freely atop a thin, tall pillar for 35 hours in New York City.
The flying balloon stunt was his latest live broadcast stunt since 2012. The stunt has lasted around 30 minutes.
Now, let’s look at the instances when David wowed the world with his stunts:
1. Buried Underground
David’s first stunt was ‘buried underground’ in a glass coffin for seven days and night. He was placed underneath a 3-ton water-filled tank surviving only on liquids. He performed this task in 1999 in Manhattan, New York.
2. Drowned Alive
David Blaine's also performed ‘drowned alive’ stunt, where he lived inside water, filled sphere for a week. He was put inside the tank along with the necessary tubing attached for water and nutrition. The challenge was ended as he removed the oxygen tube and attempt to break the breath-holding record of 8 minutes, 58 seconds which he failed, pulled out at 7 minutes. The stunt took place at Lincoln Center in New York in 2006.
3. Frozen Test
Blaine encaged himself in the ‘ frozen test’ under the 6 tons of ice block and have spent nearly three days enduring the freezing temperature until he was cut out with chain saws. This challenge was performed at Times square in 2000 with a 6-foot-thick chunk of the Alaskan glacier which was set up for the stunt.
4. Vertigo Stunt
The illusionist performed the ‘Vertigo stunt’ in 2002, where he stood on a 100 ft high pillar with only 22 inches wide above New York’s Bryant Pant. The stunt was without any harness and only two retractable handles were provided to hold onto in high winds. After 35 hours of stillness, he jumped down onto a pile of cardboard boxes.
5. Above the Below
In this one, he remained in the 30 ft high above the ground on a transparent glass cage for 44 days. He drank only 4.5 litres of water in a day and ate no food. The stunt was performed at London in 2003.
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