Eagles fan dies after horrific fall from street pole during NFC celebration

A Philadelphia Eagles fan has sadly died after falling from a street light pole while celebrating his team's move to the Super Bowl.

Football fan Tyler Sabapathy was identified in a statement released by his school, Temple University, where he had been a student majoring in exercise and sport science in his first year.

His death occurred on Sunday (January 26), after the Eagles beat the Washington Commanders 55-23 to secure a victory in the NFC championship game.

Eagles fans were out celebrating in Philadelphia (Thomas Hengge/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The win means the team will be going up against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Super Bowl on February 9, and Sabapathy was among the fans celebrating the news at the weekend.

The student, who was originally from Toronto, Canada, had been in Center City Philadelphia when a video was filmed of him climbing a street pole.

Sabapathy fell from the pole onto the concrete sidewalk, landing flag on his back and hitting his head in the process.

The student was rushed to Jefferson Hospital with a brain injury, but was pronounced dead two days later, ABC 6 reports.

Temple University paid tribute to Sabapathy in its statement released on January 28, saying: "It is with deep sadness that we write to share news of the death of first-year student Tyler Sabapathy. Over the weekend, Tyler sustained critical injuries and ultimately passed away this afternoon.

"The loss of a promising 18-year-old man like Tyler is both tragic and traumatic. There are no words that can make sense of it, and the entire Temple community mourns his passing. Our hearts go out to Tyler's family, friends, classmates, and all who knew and loved him."

Footage showed Tyler climbing a light pole (ABC 6)

The statement went on to describe Sabapathy, who was a member of the school’s gymnastics team, as an 'accomplished gymnast with more than 120 medals in provincial, regional and international competitions'.

"Tyler was fascinated with injury prevention, and this ultimately led him to pursue the major that he did. He no doubt had a bright future ahead of him, and it is so tragic that we will not be able to see how he would have made his mark on the world," it continued.

The university is set to offer grief counseling for students and staff who need it in the wake of Sabapathy's death.

After the Eagles' win, Philadelphia police had an internal briefing to review the response on Sunday and discuss what strategies they could implement if the Eagles secure a win in the Super Bowl.