Some frostbitten fans at freezing Chiefs playoff game needed amputations

Several fans who weathered subzero temperatures to attend the Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff game against the Miami Dolphins in mid-January had frostbite and underwent amputations, according to a Missouri hospital.

According to NBC News, 12 of 30 patients who were treated for frostbite at the Grossman Burn Center in January, “some of which attended the Chiefs game,” received amputation surgeries, according to Christine Hamele, associate vice president of HCA Midwest Health, which operates the center in Kansas City.

Most of the amputations involved fingers and toes, The Associated Press reported.

Missouri faced colder-than-average temperatures in January. On the day of the playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium, the temperature reached -2 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of -24 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Kansas City.

Hardcore NFL fans are known to go to great lengths to show up for their team. In January, Buffalo Bills fans helped shovel snow in the stadium ahead of two separate games — and even then, they had to sit amid piles of snow to watch the game.

The Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game was uniquely frigid, though. It was the fourth-coldest game in NFL history, and Kansas City Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins told CNN that 69 people at the game were in need of aid, nearly half of whom exhibited symptoms of hypothermia.

Clarissa-Jan Lim

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking/trending news blogger for MSNBC Digital. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.