Chinese acrobat falls to her death from mid-air during performance with husband

A Chinese acrobat has fallen to her death while performing mid-air with her husband.

The incident has sparked horror and outcry on social media in China as the woman, 37-year-old Sun Moumou, fell during an aerial silks performance in a village near the city of Suzhou in central Anhui province.

The trapeze artist was taken to hospital but died of her injuries, the Tongqiao district government said in a statement.

Chinese social media users were shocked by a video in circulation that shows the couple pulled high in the air by a crane above a large outdoor stage.

As they transitioned while still swinging, she loses her grip and falls to the ground while her husband, identified as Zhang Moumou, fails to catch her with his own legs.

The accident prompted screams from the crowd.

Many have taken to Chinese Twitter-like platform Weibo to question the absence of a safety belt or net beneath the couple.

In another statement released on Tuesday, the Tongqiao government said an investigation by authorities had ruled the tragedy an accident.

The show was hosted by a local farm business owner, who contracted the Anhui Yaxi Performing Arts Media Company to run the performance, the statement said.

The company failed to obtain approval from authorities prior to the show, and failed to provide essential safety protection and emergency measures during the performance, the investigation found.

The use of a crane in the performance was also a violation of regulations, it said.

China's Acrobats Association urged groups and performers to pay greater attention to safety measures after they expressed being "devastated and shocked" by the incident.

A state-run news website in China called The Paper reported that she leaves behind two children, as well as her husband of over a decade.

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