Ballerina killed in go-kart smash hours after posting video blowing out birthday candles

Russian ballerina Marina Yablochkina died from injuries following a freak go-karting accident on her 28th birthday.

Miss Yablochkina, who was originally from Barnaul, had been working abroad in China for the past six years.

The social media fan had been keeping her followers up-to-date as she celebrated her special day including posting a video showing her blowing out candles on a birthday cake.

She captioned the clip: "Happy birthday to me!"

Later on, she went to an amusement park where she raced friends on the go-karts. However, the pretty blonde reportedly lost control and crashed into a wall.

She immediately lost consciousness after breaking her neck in the accident and was unable to breathe.

Paramedics were called and performed a heart massage before rushing her to hospital.

Yablochkina's friend and colleague Gulnara Kasumova told local media: "The amusement park workers called an ambulance. Marina had a heartbeat, but she did not breathe."

According to Russian news outlet Ftimes, her friends described her as "a great dancer [and a] good and open person."

The talented dancer graduated from the Altai Academy of Culture and Arts in 2010 before landing a contract in China.

In recent weeks the young woman is said to have become increasingly homesick and expressed a desire to return to her native Russia in online posts.

Her grieving relatives, including her mother Svetlana Yablochkina, are now attempting to honour her last wish by having her body transported back from China to Russia.

To do so does not come cheap however, and they have set up a public appeal to raise funds to cover the cost.