Tragedy at Texas A&M University Texas A&M University and the University of Texas have been rivals for more than 90 years. Every year Texas A&M hosts an annual bonfire tradition that attracts thousands of people. It is tradition for Texas A&M to build a huge bonfire right before the game against rivals the University of Texas. The students would spend several weeks building the bonfire. On November 18, 1999, the log pile collapsed and killed 12 A&M students. The bonfire tradition would never be the same again. In US News, the article "A Tragedy at Texas A& M" tells how the logs broke in half killing 12 students. Early that morning on Thursday, November 18, 1999, the students began working on piles of logs from the previous days. A&M students were very proud of this historic event. The students would gather for a week and start creating the bonfire together. But they didn't know that this situation would turn into a tragedy. Early in the morning, around 2:30 am, the logs were thrown everywhere, including the students who were working on them that night. About 70 students were on top of the logs when it suddenly gave way. At least nine people died when A&M's towering 40-foot-tall log pyramid collapsed and then roared down early Thursday morning, crushing to death at least some good students and injuring 28 others. At least four of the injured were in critical condition and two people were seen trapped in the rubble late Thursday afternoon. Rescuers could not say whether they were alive or dead. Rescuers had to use sound detection equipment to listen for moans, bangs and scratches which led them to believe there were trapped victims. In Time magazine, the article "A Good Time Goes Bad" explains how a student at Texas A&M University this fall embarked on a rite of passages that began in 1909. Fernando Shaun was an eyewitness to this tragedy that night. The week before the accident, Fernando was helping to cut wood and load trucks. He worked hard around the clock to build the wooden tower. At 2:28 a.m. he saw the 44-foot-tall tower fall to the ground. After 24 hours, rescuers had found 12 bodies and 28 injured. People began to wonder why the tower had fallen?