Netizens are rallying to raise funds for an aerial acrobatic performer who broke her neck after falling 13 feet when the rig she was hanging from suddenly dropped down, during a live performance at a Canggu beach club.
Horrifying footage of the technical malfunction during the fateful performance at Finns Beach Club on Oct. 26 shows an acrobat, contortionist known as “Sam Panda” doing stunts from a suspended hoop. Without warning, the rig plummeted down and the woman landed directly on her head and neck.
A crowdfunding page called “Sam fell 13 ft & broke her neck” was launched on Nov. 2 for the woman on GoFundMe in a desperate bid to raise money for the woman’s medical evacuation to Singapore or Taiwan so she can undergo surgery by specialists.
“She somehow survived but has multiple fractures in her neck and a shard of bone stuck in her spinal cord which is preventing her from walking,” reads the GoFundMe page’s bio, set up by Olivia Leonie.
Panda did have a work permit and was insured by her employer, but the employer’s insurance won’t cover the medical evacuation itself, according to the crowdfunding page, which also noted that the acrobat’s case is time sensitive: “the longer Sam stays in Bali, the higher the risk that these debilitating injuries are irreversible.”
As of Friday afternoon, just over US$9,000 has been raised of the page’s US$40,000 goal, which the page claims is the amount quoted for an evacuation out of Bali.
Sam Panda posted an update to her Facebook page early on Friday morning, writing from the hospital.
“It’s 5 am, and I’m in the hospital still unable to sleep, so I’m posting this picture from a few weeks ago of me being silly on the floor in my house,” Panda wrote, continuing on that she will persevere and do “whatever I can to get myself back to me.”
After a request for comment on the incident, Finns Beach Club sales executive, Yuda, responded to Coconuts Bali with the following statement on Nov. 4:
Sam is being treated in one of Bali’s best International hospitals and we are in constant communication with her and her family.
We have been assured by the hospital that she is in excellent care with the best specialists looking after her. All medical expenses are being paid by Finns Bali
Naturally we are all hoping for her speedy recover (sic).
The same beach club was embroiled in controversy just a couple of months ago when Grammy-winner Macy Gray gave a highly disappointing performance in Sept. 2017.
UPDATE: This story was updated on Nov. 4, 2017 to include a statement from Finns Beach Club.
