NEW YORK: American illusionist Criss Angel has started a 24-hour stunt that will end with him trying to escape from a small cement box strung up above New York's Times Square before it crashes to the ground.

About 100 fans gathered in the rain to watch the spectacle in a parking lot just off Times Square, the same spot where magician David Blaine spent two days in November shackled to a gyroscope hoisted in the air before escaping.        

   DARING ESCAPE: Magician Criss Angel looks out through the glass of a box filling with wet cement during a daring 24-hour stunt attempt in New York.

Angel, 39, sat in a 1.2 metre square clear box slowly being encased in cement that was suspended 12 feet above the ground as he spoke to reporters and fans.

The box will be lifted to 40 feet and Angel will try to escape on Tuesday morning before the box is sent plunging to the ground.