mike honcho
Knuckleheads
Seven people were injured, one of them critically, when ice fell from the roof of Cowboys Stadium this afternoon, authorities said.
The accident happened about 1:15 p.m. at the stadium, site of Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV.
Five of the seven people injured were taken to area hospitals
Huge sheets of ice and snow atop the stadium could be seen sliding off the dome and crashing down 200 feet to the ground as temperatures warmed and the sun reappeared this afternoon.
“The ice and snow melting off of the Cowboys Stadium roof has caused several sliding snow falls onto the plazas,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an e-mail.
The ice reportedly began melting and falling on the northeast side of the stadium over the past few hours, Arlington fire officials said.
“It started falling throughout the day, causing minor injuries,” said Lt. Pedro Arevalo, a fire department spokesman.
He said ice falling from the roof of Cowboys Stadium was not something authorities had dealt with in the past and therefore wasn’t something they had planned for.
“All this stuff just keeps getting thrown at us, but we’ve been prepared and we’re ready for these types of situations,” Arevalo said, “other than the ice, that’s one thing we didn’t take into consideration.”
He added that authorities are confident they now have the potentially dangerous areas of the stadium blocked off and that people can get in and out of the stadium safely.
The accident forced officials to shut all but one entrance to the stadium.
“All stadium entrances have been closed except for the truck tunnel, which is away from the building by a very safe distance,” McCarthy said. “All workers and visitors will now enter and exit through the tunnel until further notice.”
The accident happened about 1:15 p.m. at the stadium, site of Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV.
Five of the seven people injured were taken to area hospitals
Huge sheets of ice and snow atop the stadium could be seen sliding off the dome and crashing down 200 feet to the ground as temperatures warmed and the sun reappeared this afternoon.
“The ice and snow melting off of the Cowboys Stadium roof has caused several sliding snow falls onto the plazas,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an e-mail.
The ice reportedly began melting and falling on the northeast side of the stadium over the past few hours, Arlington fire officials said.
“It started falling throughout the day, causing minor injuries,” said Lt. Pedro Arevalo, a fire department spokesman.
He said ice falling from the roof of Cowboys Stadium was not something authorities had dealt with in the past and therefore wasn’t something they had planned for.
“All this stuff just keeps getting thrown at us, but we’ve been prepared and we’re ready for these types of situations,” Arevalo said, “other than the ice, that’s one thing we didn’t take into consideration.”
He added that authorities are confident they now have the potentially dangerous areas of the stadium blocked off and that people can get in and out of the stadium safely.
The accident forced officials to shut all but one entrance to the stadium.
“All stadium entrances have been closed except for the truck tunnel, which is away from the building by a very safe distance,” McCarthy said. “All workers and visitors will now enter and exit through the tunnel until further notice.”