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Texas A&M marks 23 years since bonfire collapse that killed 12 students

A 59-foot-tall stack of logs collapsed during construction on Nov. 18, 1999

Friday morning marks 23 years since the bonfire collapse at Texas A&M University in College Station.

On Nov. 18, 1999, 12 students died and 27 others were injured when a 59-foot-tall stack of logs collapsed during construction. The bonfire included around 5,000 logs.

The rescue operation took more than 24 hours since most of the logs were removed by hand to prevent further collapse.

Five years later, Texas A&M built the Bonfire Memorial at the exact location of the tragedy.

The university held a ceremony at the site at 2:42 a.m. on Friday.

“We remember them,” a Facebook post read.


About the Author
Rebecca Salinas headshot

Rebecca Salinas is the Digital Executive Producer at KSAT 12 News. A San Antonio native, Rebecca is an award-winning journalist who joined KSAT in 2019.

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