Key takeaways:
- The service member fell during a pregame ceremony at the Alamodome and later died at a local hospital.
- Nellis Air Force Base said the service member was assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2.
- The game began after a delay of around 10 minutes, according to The Guardian.
A U.S. Air Force member died after falling to the field while rappelling from the Alamodome rafters before the University of Texas at San Antonio’s football game against Navy on Saturday. The fall occurred during a pregame ceremony. The incident is under investigation.
The service member was assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, according to a statement from Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs reported by CBS News. The Air Force said the service member was injured at the stadium and died at a local hospital. The person’s name has not been released, The Guardian reported.
The ceremony was part of UTSA’s Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans night, according to The Guardian. The newspaper described the service member as an Air Force officer and said he was treated on the field before being taken away on a stretcher. The squadron helps train military members to rappel from helicopters, The Guardian reported.
Witnesses told CBS affiliate KENS that the service member fell while rappelling from the stadium ceiling before kickoff. A KENS photographer said the person landed near the middle of the field, the station reported. The Alamodome roof is about 170 feet above the field, according to The Guardian. The newspaper said video of the incident captured the crowd reacting to the fall.
The start of the game was delayed by around 10 minutes after the incident, The Guardian reported. The UTSA Roadrunners and Navy Midshipmen then played the game.
Afterward, UTSA said it was “deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the start of tonight’s football game.”
“Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the soldier who was affected, his family and his military colleagues,” the university said in a statement reported by CBS News. “We recognize that members of our campus community may be emotionally affected by this incident and are activating wellbeing services to support our faculty, staff and students.”
UTSA coach Jeff Traylor said the fall changed the atmosphere in the stadium. “There was something – you could just tell that the energy was just gone [from the crowd],” he said after the game, according to The Guardian. “I’ve never had to deal with anything like that before. It just puts things in perspective. It really does.”
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