Man dies after fall into baggage claim level at SFO

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KGO) -- A man has died after he fell from the mezzanine level to the baggage claim level at Terminal 3 of the San Francisco International Airport Monday morning, airport officials said.

The San Mateo County Coroner's Office has identified the man as 53-year-old Dale Finn of South San Francisco, and have ruled his death as a suicide.

Officials say the incident happened shortly before 9 a.m. Monday morning in front of hundreds of passengers who had just arrived at the airport and were collecting their bags. Witnesses reported hearing a loud commotion prior to seeing the man fall onto the ground.

"There was a fair amount of blood in that area, and it looked like he had sustained some head trauma," said Isaac Coverstone, a Portland-area resident who was at baggage claim when he saw the man fall.

Airport paramedics were on scene within minutes, but were unsuccessful in reviving the man.

Vehicular traffic going in and out of the airport was impacted for nearly two hours following the incident, as both the Sheriff's Office and Coroner's Office sent representatives to conduct a thorough investigation. Arriving passengers were re-routed to other escalators in the terminal as crews cordoned off the impacted area. The scene was cleared by noon and operations were back to normal.

Airport officials would not confirm if the man was a ticketed passenger, and/or if he was picking someone up at the airport.

The Sheriff's Office says the investigation is ongoing.