10th anniversary of Texas A&M tragic bonfire collapse marked by candlelight vigil

2009-11-18 03:53:24 (GMT) (Caymanmama.com - Education News News)

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Aggie bonfire at Texas A&M

Austin, Texas (CaymanMama.com) — As the 10th anniversary of the 1999 fatal bonfire collapse that took the lives of 12 people and injured 27, the pride of the school will come together in remembrance.

Students and other individuals were working together to construct the 59-foot log tower for its annual football season tradition when it came tumbling down, trapping people in its path, in the early morning hours on Nov. 18, 1999. Shortly after the collapse, Texas Task Force 1, the state’s elite emergency response unit, started rescue efforts.

Over the course of the 24 hour rescue operation, university students, including the entire football team and members of the Corps of Cadets worked together to assist rescue workers with painstakingly removing the logs.

Approximately 10,000 people will gather Tuesday night at A&M’s basketball arena for a ceremony remembering the tragedy.

According to the Associated Press, “At 2:42 a.m. Wednesday, the exact time of the accident, a candlelight vigil will be held at the collapse site that is now home to a circular memorial.”

Every year, nearly 70,000 students, alumni, teachers and fans would gather on the Texas A&M campus to watch the traditional lighting of the bonfire on the night before the November football game against its rival, the University of Texas.

To further honor the victims of the bonfire collapse, in 2000, the Aggie Replant Committee planted twelve live oak trees at the Polo Grounds.



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