We sure do love our crazy stunts , but, unfortunately, this one has a tragic end. Sailendra Nath Roy, an Indian Guinness World Record holder, was attempting to cross a river on a zip line attached to his ponytail when he died of a heart attack.
The 48-year-old was performing his stunt on the Teesta river in West Bengal, reports the BBC . He suffered a heart attack during the stunt while hundreds of spectators watched in horror.
Roy was attempting to cross the Coronation Bridge over the river near Siliguri town by the strength of his ponytail, which was attached to a 600-foot zip line suspended 70 feet off the ground.
Hundreds had gathered to watch Roy’s stunt, with witnesses saying that he stalled after about 300 feet .
“He was desperately trying to move forward. He was trying to scream out some instruction. But no one could follow what he was saying. After struggling for 30 minutes he became still,” said a photographer covering the stunt.
According to authorities, he was hanging for 45 minutes before he was finally cut down. Though he was wearing a life jacket, there were no emergency services or doctors on the spot to intervene. Doctors at the hospital confirmed that he had suffered a “massive heart attack.”
Police said that Roy had not secured permission to perform the stunt, and an anonymous friend noted that his family had been trying to talk him out of such antics for years.
“His wife used to urge him to quit doing dangerous stunts. Mr. Roy convinced her that crossing the Teesta river would be his last. Unfortunately, that became his last stunt,” the friend said.
Roy was best known for several stunts involving his ponytail. In 2007, he flew from one building to another on a rope tied to his ponytail in front of TV cameras. In 2008, he pulled the Darjeeling toy train with it.
In 2011, Roy was named a Guinness World Record holder for travelling the farthest distance on a zip line using hair.
There are various videos on YouTube of Sailendra Nath Roy’s stunt gone wrong, but we won’t post any of them here out of respect for the deceased.
