Death-defying illusionist David Blaine has successfully achieved one of his most dangerous stunts yet – floating thousands of feet above a desert using just balloons.
The 47-year-old was strapped in with a harness and clutched onto 52 helium-filled balloons as he rose in the sky above the Arizona desert yesterday (September 2).
Incredible footage of his “Ascension” stunt – which was live-streamed on YouTube – shows the moment he says goodbye to his daughter and rises in the sky appearing simply to hold the balloons with one hand.
He goes past his targeted 18,000ft altitude and reaches nearly 25,000ft before he fits his parachute on his back and lets go.
David Blaine soaring up into the sky holding the ballons (Image: YOUTUBE/DAVID BLAINE)
David then free-falls to the ground for several heart-stopping moments before releasing his parachute.
The video ends with him floating back to the surface to cheers from those watching.
Upon landing, David let out a relieved gasp before shouting: “Wow, that was awesome.”
He then spoke with his daughter via radio, who said: ‘That was great. You did it. I love you.”
The stunt saw him reach nearly 25,000ft (Image: YOUTUBE/DAVID BLAINE)
David has gained a reputation for putting his body to the absolute limits with a series of physical endurance stunts.
Among his most jaw-dropping have been getting encased in ice, submerged in an aquarium for a week and being strung up by his feet over an ice rink.
But Ascension was, without doubt, one of his most dangerous. Among the biggest dangers was hypoxia – a lack of oxygen to the brain due to increasingly thin air.
The stunt was called Ascension (Image: YOUTUBE/DAVID BLAINE)
Speaking two days before his stunt, he wrote on Instagram: “David Blaine Ascension is September 2. It is looking great so I’m hoping to be able to push this beyond anything that I’ve ever done before.
“Set a reminder to be the first to know when I ascend.”
David’s stunt was seen millions of times across the world and many viewers noted its similarity to the iconic scene from Pixar movie Up.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
