Sword-Swallower Impales Himself on Stage
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An experienced British sword-swallower was taken to the hospital after ripping a four-inch hole in his esophagus during a show in northern England.
The performer, known as Hannibul Hellmurto, had difficulties when he swallowed an electric-powered glass tube filled with mercury during a show in Bradford, the Weston Mercury newspaper reported.
Related: Click here to see X-rays of other outrageous injuries.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Miraculously, he finished his show, but collapsed after coming off stage and was rushed to the Bradford Royal Infirmary, where he spent three weeks receiving medical care.
Hellmurto, a former German tax official, could not swallow anything for five weeks and had to be fed through a tube while the hole in his esophagus healed.
But the 40-year-old daredevil did not let the incident stop him from working, and he returned to the stage this week.
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