Hundreds of circus-goers watched in horror as acrobats plummeted up to 40 feet to the ground when a metallic frame apparatus collapsed during a live hair-hanging performance inside the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Rhode Island on Sunday.

The act was part of the performances of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the police said. Nine of the performers, all women were still being attended to by physicians inside a hospital in Rhode Island but no one suffered life-threatening injuries.

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One of the spectators said the apparatus just went tumbling down and the spotlights suddenly went dark.

"All that I heard was a huge clutter and then the girls started screaming," said 14-year-old Sydney Bragg, who was with her parents to watch the show.

The nine performers, including one how was dancing on the floor, were doing the hair-hanging performance called "Human Chandelier" formation when the apparatus suddenly collapsed.

Stephen Payne, a spokesman for Feld Entertainment, Ringling Bros.' parent company, said the apparatus the women were hanging from by their hair "like a human chandelier" broke free from a metal truss, dropping aerial performers dozens of feet onto the dancer below.

Of the 11 people Rhode Island Hospital treated in connection with the incident, seven were admitted, including one in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Ringling Legends' tour manager Roman Garcia said everybody was conscious and doing well as he urged everyone to pray for the female circus performers.

Despite the seriousness of the accident, one performer, who was wheeled toward a rescue truck even managed to wave to the audience, generating applause, witnesses said.

The circus has been in town since Friday as part of the Legends tour. The last performance, scheduled on Monday, was canceled.