A US military service member has tragically died after falling 45 metres in a horror rappelling accident at a college football game on the weekend, The NY Post reports.
The incident occurred in a fast-rope military demonstration at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas before a game between the University of Texas and San Antonio (UTSA) Roadrunners and Navy Midshipmen.
Footage posted on social media shows the man, one of four servicemen doing the exercise, losing control and falling rapidly on a rapel rope and crashing to the turf in the middle of the field.
Local media reported fans could be heard screaming around the arena and the team’s band stopped playing as the seriousness of the situation became evident.
The ceiling height of the Alamodome is 52 metres from the field to the interior ceiling.
Medical officials rushed onto the field and treated the airman for about 10 minutes as UTSA staff members formed a semicircle around him before he was taken away on a stretcher.
“Everybody was quiet, the band stopped performing. Everybody was dead silent,” Adrian Corey, who witnessed the fall, told KSAT.
San Antonio emergency services took the serviceman to hospital as a ‘priority one’ situation, which is used for life threatening injuries or illnesses.
The service members were from Detachment 2 of the 6th Combat Training Squadron, UTSA athletics confirmed, a unit that trains tactical air controllers for the Air Force.
Per the NY Times, the unit’s training includes rappelling from heights ranging from 4.5m tall structures to rappelling from helicopters.
In a statement, the UTSA said: “We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the start of tonight’s game,” a university statement read.
“Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the soldier who was affected, his family and his military colleagues.
“We recognise 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.”
The American Conference, which organises the game, said it was co-ordinating with local authorities.
“The American Conference is deeply saddened by tonight’s pregame incident in at the Alamodome. Our thoughts are with the individual involved, their family and colleagues, and everyone who witnessed or was affected by it,” a spokesperson said in a statement posted on X.
“We consulted with representatives of both participating member institutions, Alamodome management, local authorities and a working group to review the information available.”
“We respect the family’s privacy and will co-ordinate any further updates with the appropriate authorities. We are also working with our member institutions to help connect those affected with available support resources,” the statement added.
The game, which was UTSA’s annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game went ahead after a brief delay and UTSA claimed a 38-34 victory.
A similar military demonstration was performed without incident at last year’s corresponding game.
– With NY Post