June 24 (UPI) -- A pair of wire-walking siblings performed a world-first when they crossed a high wire suspended 250 feet over New York's Times Square.
Nik and Lijana Wallenda, part of the multi-generation Flying Wallendas family of tight rope walkers, became the first performers Sunday to walk a high wire suspended over Times Square.
The siblings started on opposite sides of the wire and met in the middle, where they executed a delicate procedure where Nik stepped over Lijana so they could continue in their respective directions.
Lijana Wallenda said the wire walk was about overcoming her fears after an injury during a rehearsal two years ago left her with severe injuries requiring reconstructive surgery on her face.
"Of course you get butterflies and a little bit sick to your stomach, like 'What am I about to do? What is wrong with my family?'" she told ABC's Good Morning America. "But then I remembered all the training and how hard I worked, and you have to fall back on that. I knew my ability. I knew I could do it."
Nik Wallenda said he saw the stunt as an homage to one of his family's most famous performances, a tight rope walk at Madison Square Garden in 1928. He said he is already planning his next stunt -- a wire walk over a volcano.