NEW YORK, Aug 27: A New York illusionist emerged shaken and exhausted on Tuesday morning after spending a full day shackled and submerged in a water tank the size of a telephone booth.

With his arms and legs chained to his waist and neck, Criss Angel’s breathing regulator and mask were yanked from the tank at the end of the 24 hours, leaving him with only minutes to hold his breath and escape from the water tank, positioned in a windowfront in Manhattan’s busy Times Square.

Angel said he was inspired by the classic routine of legendary illusionist Harry Houdini. Houdini would hold his breath underwater for several minutes while hanging upside down from a set of locked, heavy wooden stocks around his ankles.—Reuters