Magician David Blaine's attempt to fire a rifle and catch the bullet in his mouth goes horribly wrong

David Blaine thought he had died when his attempt to fire a rifle and catch the bullet in his mouth went wrong.

The magician, 43, performed the stunt at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and it aired on his E4 show Beyond Magic last night.

It involved him holding a metal cup between his teeth, which were protected by a gumshield, and pulling a cord to set off the rifle in front of him.

The .22-caliber bullet fired into the cup as planned but his gumshield shattered on impact and the cup slammed into the back of his throat.

- Originally published by Daily Mail

As the action played out, Blaine narrated: "Time just started to move really slow.

"When the bullet struck the cup, there was a high-pitched ringing in my ears and I felt an impact on the back of my throat.

"I was sure the bullet went right through my head and that I was dead.

"Suddenly I became aware of the pain and it brought me back. At that moment I realised that the mouth guard had shattered again, and I was alive."

Blaine's friends have now refused to help him perform the stunt, which he has performed three times since 2010, but he still wants to include it in his upcoming world tour.

He said of the stunt which he performed in November: "I committed to doing it live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for 20,000 people.

"The part that I didn't really spend enough attention on was building a better mouth guard."

Viewers of the show expressed their awe on Twitter. Ashley Harrison wrote: 'David Blaine? More like David Insane!

"He plans on doing the bullet catch trick in his world tour. How can he be so sure it won't kill him?"

Tom Vasiljevic added: "David Blaine ain't human, what person would attempt to catch a bullet in their mouth?"

The show also featured Blaine regurgitating live frogs in front of an audience including David Beckham.