A daredevil brother and sister walked across a tightrope in this jaw-dropping stunt 25 stories over the streets of New York .

Nik and Lijana Wallenda, of the 'Flying Wallendas', walked from opposite sides of Times Square on a wire running 1,300 feet (396 meters) from 42nd Street to 47th Street.

The two crossed midway on their 36-minute walk, Lijana, 42, sitting down so Nik, 40, could step over her, before she got up and continued her way.

The siblings were cheered on by a crowd of thousands who lined the streets below.

"Only by the grace of God," said Lijana as she walked, listening to gospel music and talking to her brother through a wireless connection.

It was Lijana's first high-wire performance since a 2017 accident in which she and four other walkers fell 30 feet (9 meters) and were seriously injured.

"Fear will not conquer me, and it didn't," she said close to completing the walk, urged on by her brother.

The Wallendas, a circus and stunt-performing family, wore safety harnesses in order to gain city approval for the stunt.

Sunday's walk was over two and a half times higher than anything she's ever walked.

"It'll be four times longer than anything, other than in training, that she's ever walked in a public setting," Nik Wallenda said on Thursday.

"I'll be so focused on her and not on myself. And I really need to be 150% focused on myself, and I know already I won't be,'' he added.

Wallenda is no stranger to stunts.

In 2012, he became the first person to walk a tightrope across the Niagara Falls, and in 2014, he walked blindfold between two skyscrapers in Chicago.

Wallenda said the wire rope is just three quarters of an inch (1.9 cm) wide, or a little smaller than a 25 cent coin.

"It's actually smaller than my thumb," he said. "It's over 25 stories up and we're walking five city blocks and it's pretty amazing."

"For her (Lijana) to be able to overcome a near-death experience and get back on the wire – I believe it will change and free a lot of people from fear that they've been struggling with."

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