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Man killed after 'zorb' ride goes awry: report

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Inventor David Akers rolls inside a ‘Zorb’, down a Sydney hill. Zorbs can reach speeds of up to 50 kilometres per hour, but a tragedy in Russia this week has highlighted the risks involved in the sport. Photo: Reuters

A father-of-two was killed in a horrifying accident when a giant inflatable ball in which he and another man were rolling down a mountain plunged off a cliff at a ski-resort in southern Russia, The Daily Mail reported.

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Denis Burakov, 27, married with two young daughters, broke his neck and spine in the zorbing accident, the newspaper reported, adding that his companion Vladimir Shcherbov, 33, was hospitalised with concussion and multiple lacerations to the head and body, but miraculously was later released.

The so-called 'zorb' was supposed to come to a halt at the bottom of a gentle snowy piste, designed for the sport, which originated in New Zealand.

But in a terrifying accident filmed by the victim’s friends, it lurched first to the right and then to the left, the newspaper reported.

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As he got into the giant ball, an unnamed friend - who filmed the horror - is heard saying: “Denis, you'll be like Jackie Chan in the Armour of God movie!” 

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