Disney employee ‘saves audience members’ from boulder in stunt gone wrong

A brave Disney employee has been praised for 'saving' audience members after a stunt involving a large rubber boulder went horribly wrong.

Yesterday (30 December), footage emerged online showing a stunt boulder veering off course and bouncing towards the crowd during a performance of the 'Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular' at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.

The boulder is used in a stunt recreating the scene where Indiana Jones outruns a boulder in 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In a typical showing of the 25-minute theme park attraction, a performer is 'squashed' by the rolling boulder as it barrels along the stage before getting up to explain the stunt.

However, this performance saw the boulder swerve off the ledge and begin bouncing towards shocked audience members in a completely unscripted moment, prompting several members of staff to intervene.

The ball veered off course during a performance of Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular (Reddit)

One particularly brave member of staff charged towards the giant ball as bounced dangerously close to audience members and attempted to grab onto it, only to be knocked to the ground.

The man's quick thinking actions cause the prop boulder to then bounce away from the audience. The performance is then halted and the lights come on, allowing several other staff members are able to rush to his aid.

READ MORE

WOMAN SPARKS DEBATE AFTER DISNEY WORLD REFUSED HER ENTRY OVER 'PERFECTLY APPROPRIATE' OUTFIT

PEOPLE ARE JUST FINDING OUT WHAT THE 'DISNEY HUG RULE' IS AT THEME PARKS AROUND THE WORLD

Meanwhile, audience members can be heard gasping in shock as the injured man is helped to his feet.

Footage of the moment has since been shared across social media, with viewers rushing to praise the man for his selfless decision to place himself in harm's way.

"He stopped it from going to the crowd. Hero in my opinion," wrote one person on Reddit, to which several other users agreed.

"Not all heroes wear capes. He saved the crowd without hesitation," a second person wrote, while a third added: "Really hope that CM is ok. Head could have hit pretty hard there."

Several people were also concerned about the man's wellbeing, as he appeared to be bleeding from the head after standing up.

"He did have blood coming from his head. It was not a lot but they quickly put towels on it," wrote one user who claimed to have been present at the performance but not recording.

"He came back at the end of the show and was wearing a hat. He got a large round of applause."

Confirming the incident in a statement, a spokesperson for Disney World told LADbible: "We’re focused on supporting our cast member, who is recovering. Safety is at the heart of what we do, and that element of the show will be modified as our safety team completes a review of what happened."

The incident happened at the Orlando park (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Opened in 1989, the 'Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular' has been at the centre of several safety incidents over the years. In 1990, the park was fined $1,000 after three crew members were injured in separate incidents.

More recently, a stuntman was killed in 2009 after suffering a head injury during rehearsals (via Fox).