SAN ANTONIO, Texas — An Air Force service member has died after suffering critical injuries during a rappelling demonstration at San Antonio’s Alamodome on Saturday. The demonstration was part of a college football pregame ceremony honoring members of the Armed Forces and military veterans, authorities said.
The accident happened shortly before kickoff of the game between Navy and the University of Texas at San Antonio.
“Once the band started playing, there was a guy that fell down,” witness Adrian Corey told ABC San Antonio affiliate KSAT. Corey was among more than 23,000 people attending the game.
Witnesses said the airman was one of three service members taking part in a rappelling display from the Alamodome’s ceiling, approximately 170 feet above the ground.
Corey, who captured the incident on his cellphone, said spectators realized something had gone wrong when the airman, whose name has not been released, “started coming down fast.”
San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Joe Arrington said firefighters arrived at the Alamodome at about 7 p.m. local time after receiving a report that someone had fallen during a pregame event. The airman was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, Arrington told ABC News.
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A spokesperson for Nellis Air Force Base later confirmed that the airman died at the hospital.
The airman was assigned to the 6th
The University of Texas at San Antonio said students who witnessed the incident are encouraged to reach out to the university’s crisis hotline, according to a statement provided to ESPN.
“Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the soldier who was affected, his family and his military colleagues,” the UTSA spokesperson said. “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.”
ABC News’ Chris Barry and Matthew Acosta contributed to this report.
