WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC AND DISTRESSING CONTENT
A trapeze artist has been hospitalised after a 25ft fall during an international competition, with fears that she may never walk again.
Evgenia Asonova, who is Russian, suffered serious spinal injuries in the accident in Riga, Latvia.
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A wire on her safety gear snapped, which led to her plunging down onto a mat, with no net to break her fall.
The harrowing incident happened two weeks ago, and Asonova remains hospitalised as she cannot move without assistance.
Now she is criticising the organisers of the 2nd International Air Athletics Championship over alleged safety breaches, claiming there was a slow response from medical teams to help her as she screamed in agony.
Asonova said: "There were no doctors on duty in the sports hall."
Russia's Investigative Committee has launched a preliminary criminal investigation into her case, with newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets reporting that it is unclear whether or not she will ever walk again.
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Asonova continued: "I fell from a height of 7-to-8 metres because the wire rope that was holding my gear broke off.
"I fell... on my back. An ambulance took me to hospital where I was operated on.
"Two vertebrae are broken - the 12th in my chest and the first in my lower back. My spinal cord is damaged. I do not feel my legs or any organs inside my pelvic floor. I need a catheter for urinating.
"I do not require any more surgeries but I can't move myself. I face a long period in a horizontal position, a long rehabilitation."
Asonova said doctors are refusing to give her any estimated timeframe for her recovery.
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"I don't remember how soon the ambulance came," she said.
"They tried to examine me but I told them, 'No, just make me fall asleep, I am in such agony.'
"Then I woke up only after the surgery. The surgeons implanted two metal sheets and eight screws. They said one vertebra was smashed to pieces and only a small part was left, so all the rest has just been removed."
Following the accident, the trapeze star posted: "You have to accept that everything is going in a way you did not want it to go.
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"To cope with it is the hardest thing.
"Sometimes I close my eyes and play my performance in my head, as if I am about to perform again soon.
"I remember all notes of my music, every movement, I even learned to point my toes in my mind.
"But now I have to cope with another thing.
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"I must fight for the ability to stand up from my bed, fight every day."
Of her trapeze career she added: "I always loved this art, it was mine.
"I miss it. Follow your dream and take care. I want to come back so much."
Featured Image Credit: East2West News
Topics: World News, News