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LAS VEGAS - Een tijger heeft in Las Vegas de wereldberoemde roofdierentemmer Roy van het duo Siegfried & Roy aangevallen en zwaar verwond. Het dier beet de artiest in de nek.

Roy verloor veel bloed en moest een noodoperatie ondergaan, meldt de Amerikaanse nieuwszender CNN zaterdag. Roy Horn had donderdag zijn 59e verjaardag gevierd. Samen met de eveneens Duitse Siegfried boekt hij al bijna dertig jaar enorme successen met een gecombineerde roofdieren- en goochelshow in Las Vegas.

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Saturday, October 4, 2003 Posted: 1120 GMT ( 7:20 PM HKT)

 
(CNN) -- A nine-year-old white tiger attacked Roy Horn of 'Siegfried & Roy' during a Friday night performance on the Las Vegas strip -- the tiger's first time on stage, and the trainer's 59th birthday.

Horn was listed as critical Saturday, according to the University Medical Center for emergency surgery's recorded message service, updated at 2:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m. ET).

The tiger lunged at Horn's neck about half-way through the show, and dragged him off stage, audience members said. "He looked like a rag doll in his mouth," said Kirk Baser, from Pennsylvania.

Emergency officials arrived at the MGM Mirage Hotel-Casino around 8:20 p.m. (11:20 p.m. ET), and treated Horn for massive blood loss before he was rushed to University Medical Center for emergency surgery.

Horn was talking at the time emergency workers arrived, but had trouble breathing, Clark County Fire spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

Horn, the darker-haired member of 'Siegfried & Roy', was born in Nordenham, Germany on October 3, 1944. Combining magic with tiger stunts, the flamboyant duo has performed on the Las Vegas strip for nearly 30 years.

The tiger that attacked Horn is currently in quarantine and no one else was injured in the attack, according to MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman.

Audience members were shocked to realize the attack was not part of an illusion or magic trick.

Amy Sherman, who was sitting in the front row with her mother about 10 yards away from the stage, said the attack happened right after Horn introduced the tiger, saying it was the animal's first performance.

"Right after that, the tiger kind of turned its head and bit him on the arm," Sherman said. "Roy started taking a microphone and started whapping the tiger on the head."

The tiger, who was on a short leash, then dragged Horn to the ground and they struggled before the tiger dragged him behind a curtain by his neck, she said. Trainers on stage rushed to aid Horn, trying to subdue the tiger.

"We just heard all this commotion behind the curtain and you could hear Roy scream," Sherman said. "Everyone at our table was kind of looking at each other, like 'Oh my God,'" she said.

After about a minute, which Sherman's mother said seemed like forever, Siegfried appeared on stage.

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De wereldberoemde dierentemmer en illusionist Roy verkeert niet meer in levensgevaar. De artiest van Duitse komaf was begin deze maand tijdens een show in het Amerikaanse Las Vegas door een witte tijger in de nek gebeten.
Volgens zijn vriend en zakenpartner Siegfried heeft de zwaargewonde Roy de fase van overleven achter zich gelaten en gaat het nu om zijn herstel. Zijn toestand is niet meer kritiek, citeerde de Amerikaanse zender ABC vrijdagavond de helft van het showduo.
De optredens van Roy en Siegfried zijn al tientallen jaren een van de topattracties in Las Vegas. De voorstellingen met roofdieren en goocheltrucs werden na het incident voor onbepaalde tijd afgelast.