Ingrid Vasquez is a Digital News Writer at PEOPLE. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor in Journalism. Before joining the team, she worked as an Editor at FanSided and provided work in the celebrity and lifestyle space for brands that include Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, EW, and more.
A performer at Universal Studios Hollywood‘s Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular attraction was hospitalized on Monday.
In a statement to PEOPLE, a Universal Studios Hollywood spokesperson says, "We can confirm a performer with one of our long-standing show vendors was transported to the hospital following a stunt during an afternoon performance and our thoughts are with him as he receives care. Details surrounding the event are being reviewed."
According to KTLA, the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to a call from the California-based theme park just before 2:10 p.m. on Monday about an “unresponsive patient” who was given CPR and was breathing before being taken to the hospital.
LACoFD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
A witness told ABC7 that the man, who has not been identified, fell into the water from atop one of the attraction’s towers (as part of the performance) and failed to come out. Once the other performers noticed he was missing, they joined together to pull him out as the crowd ushered out, and the performance was canceled.
According to the show’s website, “WaterWorld—A Live Sea War Spectacular represents the most complex combination of high-tech special effects, pyrotechnics, flame and human stunt work ever attempted anywhere in the world. The attraction puts studio guests in the middle of the exciting action that involves hundreds of stunts and fiery special effects.”
The show description adds the some of the performance highlights "include giant fireballs rising 50 feet in the air and cascading to earth in a spectacular wall of fire and a seaplane that swoops in directly above the audience, skidding across the water and coming to an explosive crash landing just inches away from startled spectators."
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The California-based theme park was closed for over a year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, shutting down in March 2020 and reopening on April 16, 2021.
"We are incredibly thrilled to finally be able to open Universal Studios Hollywood, return team members to work and welcome guests back to enjoy our amazing rides," Karen Irwin, president and COO of Universal Studios Hollywood, said in a statement at that time. "It has been a very challenging year and we are overjoyed to have arrived at this moment."
Shortly after its re-opening, a large fire broke out near the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem attraction in June 2021 while it was under construction and was captured in a video shared on Twitter by a passerby. In a second video, a woman could be heard saying, “Oh no, the minions.”
A rep from Universal confirmed to PEOPLE that there were no injures or damage to the rides and attractions from the fire, which occurred "back of house in a non-guest area."
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Performer at Universal Studios Hollywood Hospitalized After … – PEOPLE
