SAN ANTONIO, Texas– A serviceman has died after a hard fall while rappelling from the ceiling to midfield before a University of Texas at San Antonio football game where the military was being honored.
Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs said the soldier assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, was taken to a local hospital Saturday, where he later died.
An investigation was underway into what led to the incident during UTSA’s annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game against Navy.
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.
In a statement after the game, UTSA offered counseling services to students and said, “We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred early in tonight’s game. Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with the affected Soldier, his family and fellow service members.”
The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was one of four soldiers scheduled to take part in the pre-match recall demonstration.
According to an Air Force website, the service members participating in the booster demonstration were part of a team of specialists who integrate 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 (about 30 meters) or more above the ground.
The game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, which UTSA won 38-34, was delayed about 10 minutes.
After the game, 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.”
Gn sports
