TENKO SERIOUSLY INJURED DURING MAGIC TRICK

TENKO SERIOUSLY INJURED DURING MAGIC TRICK

Japanese magician PRINCESS TENKO has been seriously injured after a stunt billed as "the spike illusion in the face of death" left her with broken ribs and a fractured right cheek. The star was supposed to escape from a box spiked with ten metal swords, but was instead impaled for 30 minutes before the performance in Sabae, Japan, on Sunday (21Jul07) was called off. Noboru Ochiai, Tenko's manager, says, "It will take a month to heal the wounds. "(The sword) would have been stuck in her right eye if it were one centimetre (0.39 inches) higher. She is suffering tremendous pain but is more shocked that she had to call off performances." Tenko's fans include North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, who invited the star to perform for him in 1998 and 2000.