An escape artist had to be rescued after he stopped breathing while trying to get out of a water tank.

Pedro Volta was paying tribute to Harry Houdini by trying to escape the tank in front of a crowd, while wearing a straitjacket.

Unfortunately, he didn’t manage and started to drown.

He passed out in the tank (Picture: CEN)

The startling scenes were filmed by onlookers in the Doctor Gereda Square as part of an an international festival of magic near Madrid.

In the video, people watch hoping he’ll be able get out, until his body stops moving and he is left floating motionless in the water.

Then organisers rush to open the top of the tank and lift him out.

Local media report Volta lost consciousness after spending two minutes in the tank.

Pedro Volta had to be rescued (Picture: CEN)

Paramedics were called but Volta had already regained consciousness when they arrived. He was taken to the Collado Villalba hospital for checks.

Volta later told reporters he had had a problem with a buckle on the belt restraining his arm and had taken longer than usual.

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He added: ‘I made an effort and managed to release the buckle but the energy and oxygen used in doing so was too much. My organism fainted due to exhaustion.’

The escape artist said that security measures were in place to ensure the tank could be easily opened from the outside.