By Sarah Smithon Tuesday, 9 May 2006 David Blaine has failed in his attempt to break the record for holding his breath under water while escaping chains.
The previous record was eight minutes and 58 seconds, but Blaine missed the watermark and only managed seven minutes and eight seconds.
However, the eccentric American performer succeeded in spending an entire week under water, breathing and being fed through tubes. In the seven days leading up to the record attempt, he spent some 177 hours under water in a spherical glass tank in Lincoln Square, New York.
Blaine had been warned by experts that his latest stunt could result in blackouts and even brain damage. Doctors were forced to treat his skin as it began peeling underwater.
In the end he had to be rescued by divers who jumped into the tank and pulled him out. He then addressed the crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle, saying: "I am humbled so much by the support of everyone from New York City and from all over the world."
In 2003 Blaine spent 44 days suspended in a glass box next to Tower Bridge on the bank of the River Thames, apparently without food. He suffered a great deal of verbal abuse from passers-by and his glass house was pelted with eggs.
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