A US Air Force member has died after falling while rappelling from the ceiling of the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, before a University of Texas at San Antonio football game.
The incident happened during a pre-match ceremony for UTSA’s annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game against Navy. The service member landed near the centre of the field and was treated before being taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs said the man was assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2. His identity had not been released.
He was one of four military personnel due to take part in the rappelling demonstration. The group are specialists who work alongside Army and Marine units, helping to direct air and artillery strikes from forward ground positions.
Their training includes rapidly descending by rope, sometimes from helicopters more than 100ft above the ground.
Video posted on social media showed the man, wearing combat fatigues, descending feet first before falling. Fans were in the stands and a band had assembled on the pitch at the time. The incident is under investigation.
The game went ahead, with UTSA beating Navy 38-34. The university said it was “deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the start of tonight’s football game”.
It added: “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.”
UTSA coach Jeff Traylor described the accident as “heartbreaking” and “tragic” after the game. He said the team could see the impact on a crowd of more than 23,000 people when the players came on to the field.
Mr Traylor said he had initially only been told that there had been an incident which would delay the start by about 10 minutes. “You could tell the energy was just gone,” he said. “It just really puts things in perspective. It really does.”
