An employee of David Copperfield was hospitalized Wednesday with a broken arm after one of the illusionist’s tricks went awry on stage.

The unidentified employee was assisting Copperfield during the “fan illusion” and got his arm caught in the fan. In the illusion, Copperfield appears to walk through the fan and disappear as he turns to smoke.

The show, dubbed An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion, took place in Las Vegas at MGM Grand’s Hollywood Theatre.

“This is a trick David has done over 3,000 times,” executive producer Chris Kenner says. “This was a freak accident.”

The show was stopped after the mishap, but it’s unlikely the crowd could get a clear view of the accident, Kenner says.

“He is recovering,” Kenner says. “People are always saying that it’s magic and it isn’t dangerous. This goes to show you that it is.”

Kenner said Copperfield will continue to perform the fan illusion in his shows. None of Copperfield’s shows at MGM Grand have been postponed due to the incident.

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