Indian daredevil dies during zip-line stunt

KOLKATA // A daredevil Indian who held the Guinness World Record for covering the longest distance on a zip-line while hanging by his hair has died while performing a stunt, officials said.

Sailendra Nath Roy, a 49-year-old police officer, was attempting to cross the turbulent River Teesta yesterday in West Bengal on a 180-metre wire above the water.

After attaching his shoulder-length hair to a pulley on the wire, Roy had completed about half of the distance but he then became entangled and found himself unable to move, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

Hundreds of spectators initially cheered him on, but then began screaming in horror when they saw Roy making increasingly desperate attempts to move forward.

"Roy tried frantically to get hold of a second rope to reach the finishing point," senior local police officer K Jayaraman said.

After about 20 minutes, he became motionless and was eventually rescued by onlookers. No ambulance or a doctor was present during the performance, which was watched by his family.