On April 25, at Taiyuan Ocean World in Shanxi Province, a mermaid performer suddenly began to drown during a performance but was fortunately rescued in time by staff.

Video footage shows the performer suddenly lying motionless in the water, with her body curled up and twitching. Some audience members initially mistook it as part of the performance. Around 20 seconds later, they realised something was wrong and called for help. Rescue personnel jumped into the pool from backstage to pull her out.

After being rescued, the performer was taken to the hospital. Her family reported that she developed pulmonary edema due to water inhalation and was transferred to the ICU for observation. She was conscious but experiencing chest tightness.

On April 27, the attending doctor stated that the patient’s condition was relatively stable: “She developed pulmonary edema from drowning, but her vital signs—blood pressure, heart rate—are stable. She’s conscious and should be able to leave the hospital in a few days.”

According to the performer, Ms. Feng, the drowning wasn’t caused by low blood sugar, but by a current from a water intake above the pool that knocked off her goggles while she was surfacing for air. In her panic, her fins also came off, making it impossible to stay afloat, which led to the drowning incident.

Mr. Sun, the staff member who rescued the “mermaid,” said he was standing next to the mermaid performance area when he noticed something was wrong. He quickly entered the theater from backstage and jumped into the pool to save her. From the moment he realized she was drowning to when he jumped into the pool, less than a minute had passed. “I first dragged her onto the platform of a sunken structure in the pool to keep her head above water, helped her expel the water, and then moved her ashore,” Mr. Sun said.

Mermaid performances require long periods of breath-holding, enduring water pressure, and consume significant physical energy. The costume tail becomes heavier when soaked, increasing difficulty of movement. Some venues do not strictly enforce the “dive buddy system,” increasing the risk of solo performances.

The loss of goggles can impair underwater vision, and losing fins directly affects buoyancy control—both are critical safety hazards for performers. Industry standards require two safety personnel, emergency ascent devices, and backup breathing equipment. This incident exposed lapses in equipment inspection at Taiyuan Ocean World.

Currently, the venue has suspended all water performances and initiated a self-inspection. The Taiyuan Cultural and Tourism Bureau has launched a citywide safety inspection of all special performance venues, focusing on rescue response time, health monitoring, and other key areas.