A U.S. Air Force member was injured and later died after rappelling from the ceiling of Alamodome Stadium in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday before a University of Texas at San Antonio football game.
The incident took place during a pregame ceremony, before the official kickoff of UTSA’s annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game against Navy, CBS affiliate KENS reported. The soldier landed near the middle of the field after falling, a KENS photographer said.
Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs released a statement saying the service member – assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2 – was injured at the stadium and died at a local hospital. CBS News has contacted Nellis AFB for additional comment.
The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was one of four soldiers scheduled to take part in a rappelling demonstration before Saturday’s match. According to an Air Force website, they were part of a team of specialists who integrate with Army and Navy units and help direct air and artillery strikes from forward ground locations.
Part of their training includes learning to rapid drop with a rope, sometimes from helicopters 100 feet or more above the ground.
A video of the fall posted on social media showed the man, in combat gear, quickly descending to the ground, feet forward. The fall occurred with fans in the stands and a group gathered nearby on the field. He was treated on the field for several minutes and taken away on a stretcher.
The incident remains under investigation.
The match, between the UTSA Roadrunners and the Navy Midshipmen, was still on Saturday. The university later released a statement saying it was “deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the start of tonight’s football game.”
“Our most sincere thoughts and prayers are with the affected soldier, his family and his fellow service members,” the statement said. “We recognize that members of our university community may be emotionally affected by this incident and are activating wellness services to support our faculty, staff and students.”
After the game, which UTSA won 38-34, UTSA coach Jeff Traylor told reporters the accident was “heartbreaking” and “tragic.”
He said the team could see the effect it had on the crowd of more than 23,000 as soon as the players took the field for the game, even though Traylor had only been informed that there had been an “incident” that would delay the start of the game by about 10 minutes.
“You could tell the energy was gone,” he said. “It really puts things into perspective. It really does.”
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