Blaine fails to set breath holding record

NEW YORK, May 9 (UPI) -- Stuntman David Blaine left a New York hospital Tuesday after setting a record for spending time underwater but failing in his breath holding stunt.

Blaine was admitted to the hospital for observation Monday night after emerging from the 8-foot fishbowl where he had been living for the past 177 hours.

Rescue divers hauled him from the tank after he struggled to hold his breath and started to gasp after 7 minutes, the New York Daily News said. The world record was 8 minutes, 58 seconds.

Blaine, 33, suffered liver damage, some loss of sensation and skin rashes, Dr. Murat Gunel of the Yale University School of Medicine said.