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An American Airlines employee was killed after a ground service vehicle struck a jet bridge at Austin-Bergstrom Airport in Austin, Texas, on Thursday (April 21), authorities confirmed via CNN.
The employee was reported to have experienced "obvious signs of trauma" to his body when first responders arrived at the airport.
“Unfortunately, the male succumbed to his injuries,” Austin Police Corporal Destiny Silva confirmed during a news conference on Thursday via CNN.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport also shared a statement regarding the incident on his Twitter account and confirmed the employee was pronounced dead at the scene.
"This afternoon AUS was notified that Austin-Travis County EMS responded to an injured airline employee," the statement reads. "The incident occurred outside of the terminal where aircraft park at their gates. ATCEMS pronounced the employee deceased.
"There are no significant impacts to airport operations at this time. AUS staff are working closely with the airline and emergency services personnel.
"Our thoughts are with this employee and all those impacted by today's tragic event."
Police are investigating the situation as an accidental death and airport operations weren't affected, according to Silva.
“We can confirm that Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) responded to an incident with an American Airlines employee on the apron by Gate 24 at AUS earlier this afternoon,” said Bailey Grimmett, a public information specialist with Austin-Bergstrom Airport, in an email to CNN, noting that staff “are working closely with the airline and emergency services personnel.”