South Jersey native hospitalized after diving accident with Cirque du Soleil

LAS VEGAS – An accomplished high diver from South Jersey was injured while performing at a casino show and the accident is under investigation by safety regulators.

Kyle Mitrione reportedly broke his neck during a performance of Cirque du Soleil’s water-themed show, “O,” at the Bellagio Resort & Casino, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Mitrione, a Haddonfield native, followed stand-out performances in high school and college with a career as an acrobatic cliff diver and Cirque du Soleil performer.

A Cirque du Soleil representative, who declined to name the accident victim, said a performer was injured after diving off a platform during a June 28 show.

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The performance was stopped to allow the injured diver to be taken to a hospital, said the spokesperson, Ann Paladie.

His condition was not known.

Cirque du Soleil divers drop 60 feet

She said Cirque du Soleil has “temporarily paused” the act during which the accident occurred.

“O” is entering its 25th year as a “resident show” at the Bellagio, according to an account at a Cirque du Soleil website.

“High up in the air, our elite divers jump from 60 feet — higher than an Olympic diving board — into a 17-foot deep section below water,” the account says.

The show also has 17 synchronized swimmers, as well as technicians and scuba divers who move stage pieces underwater.

Mitrione, who has also competed in Red Bull Cliff Diving events, expressed gratitude in a recent Facebook message to the many people who have supported him since his hospitalization.

“Please know the love I’m feeling is keeping me going,” he said in a July 7 post. “It’s an indescribable sensation of hope and light. you’ve pulled me from a darkness I did not know existed,” he wrote.

“I can’t thank everyone enough, for every offer to help, every gesture, every thought, prayer, wish, dream… I’ve felt them all,” Mitrione said.

The post did not address Mitrione’s condition or whether he’s still hospitalized.

A state law required Cirque du Soleil to report any accident that hospitalized an employee within 24 hours, said Teri Williams, a spokesperson for the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

OSHA investigators at Cirque du Soleil workplace

Health and safety officials have opened an investigation at the Bellagio workplace, she said.

“Under Nevada law, details of open and ongoing investigations are deemed confidential,” said Wiliams, who noted the agency has six months to issue a citation.

Cirque du Soleil is “cooperating fully” with the investigation, Paladie said.

Mitrione competed as a diver during his four years at Purdue University, and was voted a team captain as a senior in 2009-10, according to the school’s website.

He ranked among the top divers in Purdue’s history, and was an honorable-mention All American in platform diving as a junior.

Among other accomplishments, Mitrione was a two-time state champion at Haddonfield Memorial High School and helped lead his team to a 2004 state championship, the Purdue site noted.

In his Facebook post, Mitrione also urged people to support his wife, Karolina, during a family crisis.

“Every smile from her, every time we share a laugh, I’m reminded that we still have each other and that there’s hope of living fulfilled lives together at the end of this journey,” he wrote.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Diver, a South Jersey native, hurt during Cirque du Soleil show