Portland, Oregon - Acrobat Mariia Konfektova is one of the biggest stars of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil, but during a performance over the weekend, she suffered a horrific accident.

The 23-year-old enchanted the audience during the KOOZA show in Portland, Oregon, with her spectacular stunts on Saturday.

But suddenly, the audience fell silent as Konfektova lost control while suspended several feet up in an aerial ring before plummeting to the ground.

"To see something like this is very surprising and very shocking," Brian Goldstein, one of the circus attendees, told ABC News.

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He was sitting very close to the ring with his two children when the accident occurred, and he recalled it as "very scary" for his daughter.

His young son Benjamin, meanwhile, had been filming the stunt on his phone and caught the fall, which he initially thought was a part of the show.

But when he saw the horror on the faces of everyone involved, he quickly changed his mind.

The show was paused for around 20 minutes after the dramatic incident. Paramedics attended to the acrobat, who was lying on the floor with her condition unclear.

However, when the Russian star was finally carried out of the ring, little Benjamin was able to see her giving the audience a thumbs up. The show then continued.

Cirque du Soleil later took to Facebook to thank the audience for their many well wishes for their performer.

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Konfektova announced via Instagram on Sunday that she was okay.

As reported by the New York Post, the former gymnast holds an impressive world record, having spun 75 times in her aerial ring within just 30 seconds!