Video: Circus performer mauled by lion a decade after her husband died performing same routine

A terrifying video has been released showing the moment a lion tamer was mauled by one of her animals – a decade after her husband was killed doing the same routine.

Faten El-Helw was performing her popular act in Tanta, Egypt last Thursday, when the animal pounced.

In the video, El-Helw is seen dancing and waving to the audience seconds before she is tackled to the ground by the lioness called Mandy.

The audience, consisting of a number of young families, can be heard screaming as the cameraman takes the camera’s focus away from the stage.

When the camera pans back, El-Helw is seen on her feet and walking out of the cage as a fellow trainer tries to calm down the the lion.

El-Helw was quickly rushed to hospital. Miraculously, she survived the attack, suffering only a hairline fracture to the pelvis.

El-Helw comes from a long list of lion tamers stretching back more than a century.

According to reports, there have been at least five attacks on members of her family by lions.

In the 1980s, El-Helw’s father, Mohamed, was killed after he was attacked trying to break up two lions during a mating session.

Her husband, Ibrahim, died in 2004 when he was attacked by a lioness.