Indian man dies attempting hair-raising stunt record

A Guinness World Record holder died in eastern India when he tried to cross a river suspended by his hair, news reports said Monday.

Sailendra Nath Roy, was halfway across Teesta River Sunday when his hair got stuck in the wheeler of the zip wire and he was left hanging in mid-air for more than a half hour, the online edition of the India Today magazine reported.

Roy, 50, made frantic efforts to free himself but suffered a heart attack and died, the report said.

Hundreds of onlookers gathered at a bridge to watch Roy, suspended at a height of 21 metres, try to cover the 183-metre distance, the Hindu newspaper reported.

Roy, a driver for local police, was named as world record holder in 2011 for travelling a distance of 82.5 metres on a zip wire using hair.

He had also pulled a 42-ton Darjeeling toy train for 2.5 metres by his ponytail last year.