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The paratrooper got his parachute stuck in the stadium roof - Shutterstock/Nathan Barange
Sale Sharks’ Champions Cup last-16 tie against Toulouse was delayed by more than 25 minutes after a paratrooper was left suspended from the stadium awning.
In a sequence that began around five minutes before the scheduled kick-off time at Stadium de Toulouse, two parachutists flew in and landed on the pitch after players from both teams had finished their team warm-ups.
The third, however, was caught by their parachute on the top of the stadium. They stayed suspended above supporters before the stand was partially cleared.
Stadium staff and the Toulouse mascot rushed to gather tackle shields and post protectors to place underneath the parachutist as an emergency crash mat.
Eventually, around 15 minutes after the parachutist first became stuck, an inflatable mat from a game designed for children that had been used outside the stadium was set up in the same area.
The inflatable then had to be moved by a group of 20 staff from pitch level to cover the seats underneath the parachutist, to allow a fire engine to enter the corner of the ground.
Upon securing the parachutist, the cherry-picker continued to rise to the level of the awning and freed the parachute to loud cheers. Players re-emerged at that point to undertake a second warm-up ahead of the new kick-off time.
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