A PARACHUTIST crashed into the roof of a stadium and had to cling on for dear life in terrifying scenes.<br /><br />Toulouse were hosting Sale Sharks in the Champions Cup in France, as the match ball was delivered by parachute.<br /><br />And ahead of kick-off, three parachutists flew into the bowl of the Stadium de Toulouse.<br /><br />About five minutes before the 3 pm kick-off, the first two landed safely on the pitch.<br /><br />But the third got his parachute trapped in the roof of the stadium as he misjudged the landing.<br /><br />The man, later identified as Trouille Yannick, was left hanging on as fans were cleared from the seats 50 feet below in case he fell on them.<br /><br />He was seen clinging to the fabric of his chute as 33,000 terrified fans watched on in the stadium, and thousands more watched live on French TV.<br /><br />Video footage from rugby reporter Charlie Morgan showed the stars, including the fancy-dress mascot, carrying rugby post protectors to provide padding in case they fell.<br /><br />Toulouse then moved a giant inflatable, used to keep children amused before the match, underneath while a fire engine arrived on the scene.<br /><br />Eventually, after 30 agonising minutes of high drama, a ladder was hoisted out from the fire engine to rescue the parachutist, with the firefighters whipping up the crowd which prompted a huge reaction.<br /><br />The fans sang the French national anthem, the Marseillaise, once the parachutist was safely brought to the ground.<br /><br />Thankfully, he was left shaken but unharmed by the incident.<br /><br />Speaking to France 2, the military parachutist thanked firefighters for their rescue.<br /><br />He said: "I saw that everything was being organised around me.<br /><br />"I remained calm. I was not afraid that the parachute would come loose because I had looked carefully, and it was well attached.<br /><br />"I'm doing very well and I thank everyone, the Stade Toulouse team, the firefighters, and all the fans who cheered me on."<br /><br />The alarming incident meant kick-off for the huge match was delayed by 40 minutes.<br /><br />Of the other English teams to make the knockout stages, Northampton Saints are the only team to have reached the quarter-finals.<br /><br />Saracens, Harlequins, and Leicester Tigers were all dumped out in crushing defeats.
