Walking barefoot across hot coals is hardly health and safety 101 but it is still an important part of some cultures and even has a Hindu festival dedicated to it.
However, the inevitable happened in southwestern India on Saturday when a priest fell and sustained 60 percent burns to his legs. Ouch. Watch the video of the incident below.
The religious festival was taking place at Sri Revanasiddeshwara temple in the Ramanagara district of Karnataka, India, when 35-year-old Vijay Kumar went to perform the ritual which would see him run over a strip of burning embers while holding a sword.
However, disaster struck as Kumar reached the halfway point and lost his footing, stumbling forwards and taking a tumble face-first into the fiery coals.
The video footage shows the man scrambling around, trying to make his way off the coals while another man - thought to be his brother - leaps to his aid and with the help of a third man, carries him away to safety.
All three men required hospital treatment at St. John's Medical College Hospital in Bengaluru. Kumar was treated for 60 percent burns to his legs while his rescuers suffered 15 - 20 percent burns.
Last year, a similar accident took place during a firewalking ritual in Bangalore.
A woman who was attempting to cross the hot coals as part of a religious festival, tripped on her saree and face-planted into the ground.
Miraculously, the woman was quickly rescued by onlookers and managed to escape with only minor injuries.
Over in America, self-help guru Tony Robbins found himself in hot water after at least 30 people were injured while walking over hot coals during one of his seminars in Dallas, Texas.
According to Robbins' website, the fire walk is intended to help people conquer their fears by walking across the scorching embers.
"Walking over those hot coals is a symbolic experience that proves if you can make it through the fire, you can make it through anything," his website says.
Out of 7,000 people participating, around 30 were left with minor injuries, some of which required hospital treatment.
"It is always the goal to have no guests with any discomfort afterwards, but it's not uncommon to have fewer than one percent of participants experience 'hot spots', which is similar to a sunburn that can be treated with aloe," said Jennifer Connelly, a spokeswoman for Robbins.
Following the event, Robbins' website posted: "We are pleased to have completed another successful fire walk for 7,000 guests and look forward to the remainder of an outstanding weekend with them."
Featured Image Credit: SWNSTopics: World News, Interesting, India