Nellis Air Force Base: Service member dies after rappelling fall at a UT San Antonio game

Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images

A military service member has died after he fell hard as he rappelled from the ceiling to midfield before a University of Texas at San Antonio football game, where the military was honored.

Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs said the service member assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, was taken Saturday to a local hospital, where he later died.

An investigation was underway into what led up to the incident at UTSA’s annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game against Navy.

A video of the fall that was posted on social media showed the man, in combat fatigues, quickly descending to the ground feet first. The fall occurred with fans in the stands and a band assembled nearby on the field. He was treated on the field for several minutes and taken away on a gurney.

In a statement after the game, UTSA offered counseling service contacts for students and said, “We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the start of tonight’s game. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the soldier who was affected, his family and his military colleagues.”

The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was one of four military service members who were scheduled to participate in the pregame rappelling demonstration.

According to an Air Force website, the service members who were participating in the rappelling demonstration were part of a team of specialists who embed with Army and Marine units and help to direct air and artillery strikes from forward ground locations.

Part of their training includes learning to rapidly drop by rope, sometimes from helicopters that are 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 for about 10 minutes.

After the game, UTSA Coach Jeff Traylor told reporters that the accident was “heartbreaking” and “tragic.”

He said the team could see the effect that it had on the crowd of over 23,000 people as soon as players arrived on the field for the game, although Traylor had only been told there had been an “incident” that would delay the start of the game by about 10 minutes.

“You could tell the energy was just gone,” he said. “It just really puts things in perspective. It really does.”

Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images

在德克萨斯大学圣安东尼奥分校的一场橄榄球比赛开始前，一名军人在从天花板速降到中场时不幸坠落身亡。这场比赛是为了向军人致敬。

内利斯空军基地公共事务处表示，这名隶属于第6战斗训练中队第2分队的军人于周六被送往当地医院，后在那里去世。

目前正在对导致 UTSA 一年一度的向武装部队和退伍军人致敬的比赛中，与海军学院的比赛发生的事件的原因进行调查。

社交媒体上发布的一段视频显示，这名身穿迷彩服的男子迅速双脚着地倒在地上。事发时，看台上还有球迷，一支乐队也聚集在附近的球场上。他在场上接受了几分钟的现场救治，随后被担架抬走。

赛后，UTSA发表声明，为学生提供心理咨询服务联系方式，并表示：“我们对今晚比赛开始时发生的事件深感悲痛。我们衷心慰问受影响的士兵、他的家人和他的战友，并为他们祈祷。”

该男子的身份尚未公布，他是四名计划参加赛前速降表演的军人之一。

据美国空军网站报道，参加速降演示的军人隶属于一个专家团队，该团队与陆军和海军陆战队部队一起行动，帮助从前沿地面位置指挥空中和炮兵打击。

他们的训练内容包括学习快速用绳索下降，有时是从离地面 100 英尺（约 30 米）或更高的直升机上下降。

在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的阿拉莫穹顶体育馆举行的比赛中，UTSA 以 38-34 获胜，比赛因故延迟了大约 10 分钟。

赛后，UTSA 教练杰夫·特雷勒告诉记者，这起事故“令人心碎”且“悲惨”。

他说，当球员们到达比赛场地时，球队立刻就能感受到这起事件对超过 23,000 名观众的影响，尽管特雷勒之前只被告知发生了一起“事件”，这将导致比赛推迟大约 10 分钟才开始。

“你能感觉到他已经精疲力竭了，”他说。“这真的让人看清了很多事情。确实如此。”