Guy Laliberte "heartbroken" over Cirque du Soleil death

LAS VEGAS - Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte says he's heart brokenby the death of one of his performers in Las Vegas.

Sarah Guyard-Guillot, 31-year old Paris born mother of two, was performing in Cirque du Soleil's "Ka" at the M-G-M Grand in Las Vegas Saturday when she fell from a height of about 16 metres.

Witnesses say she was being hoisted up the side of the stage when she appeared to slip out of her safety wire and plummet to an open pit below the stage.

They said the audience initially thought it was all part of the show, but soon realized -- to their horror -- what had actually happened.

Laliberte has issued a statement praising Guyard-Guillot and saying performances of "Ka" have been cancelled until further notice.

He also says Cirque officials are working with authorities investigating the accident.

Guyard-Guillot had been with the original cast of "Ka" since 2006, and had been an acrobatic performer for over 20 years.

The Quebec-based Cirque du Soleil was founded in 1984 and is now an international entertainment giant with five-thousand employees.

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  In this Nov. 28, 2008, photo, the final fight scene is performed on a vertical stage during Cirque du Soleil’s “Ka” at MGM Grand Resort in Las Vegas. Ka performer Sarah Guyard-Guillot, a mother of two young children, was pronounced dead at a hospital late Saturday night, June 29, 2013, after falling about 50 feet from the show's stage during a performance of Cirque du Soleil's "Ka." (AP Photo/Las Vegas Sun, Leila Navidi)