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12 injured after Dallas Cowboys' facility collapses

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-03 16:16

HOUSTON -- The Dallas Cowboys' indoor practice facility collapsed during a thunderstorm on Saturday, leaving 12 people injured, team officials said.

The building, known locally as the Bubble, was blown down at about 3:30 p.m. local time as 27 rookie players were attending a three-day mini-camp there. There were about 70 people in the facility at the time, counting coaches, other team personnel and media, officials said.

"We did a head count," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a televised interview with NBC. "All the players and staff are safe."

Cowboys employees who were atop scaffolding towers videoing the practice session were among those injured, the team said.

Ten employees of the National Football League team were taken to nearby hospitals, and two others went to hospitals on their own, an article posted on the Cowboys' website said.

Among the injured was special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, who sustained some kind of neck injury and was taken to an area hospital by ambulance, according to Cowboys coach Wade Phillips. He said a couple of players suffered minor injuries.

Among those hospitalized, two or three suffered serious injuries, but none of them are in life-threatening condition, Paul Pepe, Dallas County's emergency medical services chief, was quoted by local media as saying.

A line of heavy thunderstorms was moving through the Dallas area for much of Saturday, causing flash floods and power outage.