Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas faced the media in Adelaide late today and said the club was devastated over the young player's death. John McCarthy, left, on the field for Port Adelaide. Credit:Getty He said the club was informed at 9.30am (AEST) about a "fatal accident" involving one of their players. "It is our understanding that at the time of his death he wasn't with any of the other Port Adelaide players. The day has been spent trying to make sure that John's parents and his family have been informed and supported. The reason for the delay today is that we had difficulty in contacting his brother who is overseas as well." Thomas said it is not known if alcohol was involved in the incident.

"My understanding is that he fell from a building, but I don't have any more detail than that," he said. McCarthy's teammates are making plans to return from the United States as soon as possible. A grief counsellor has been at the club's Alberton headquarters today helping teammates cope with the news. The other players in the travelling party are Travis Boak, Matthew Broadbent, Alipate Carlile, Brett Ebert, Hamish Hartlett, Tom Logan, Andrew Moore, Paul Stewart, Jackson Trengove and Justin Westhoff. Thomas said it had been a great shock to the club. "It's devastating news. He's a young fella, he's 22 ... It's a major, major setback, emotionally." A hotel spokeswoman said in a statement that the man was found at 5.40am (10.40pm AEST) Sunday on the hotel's south driveway. He was unresponsive, she said.

The club is in contact with members of the travelling group and is working with US authorities while investigations continue. "He was transported to the University Medical Center of Las Vegas, where he was pronounced deceased," said the spokeswoman, Debbie Munch. "Nevada's Clark County Coroner's Office is investigating and is the point of contact for further details." The club's player operations manager Peter Rohde is travelling to Las Vegas to assist distraught teammates of the player. "We've dispatched our general manager of football Peter Rohde to American this afternoon he'll be there to help the family with bringing John back. The players who were holidaying with John are planning to return as soon as we can get them back," Thomas said.

"His sister is in America, she's going to meet up with Peter Rohde to work out the process to get John home. His parents are just waiting upon those two to meet before deciding whether to fly over. Clearly there is an investigation that will go on, so it could be several days." Thomas said details of the incident were still sketchy. "They (the players) were in the same hotel but the incident happened at another hotel, so it didn't happen at the hotel they were staying at, which we don't understand." A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the department was in contact with US authorities about the incident. "We are aware of reports an Australian man has been involved in a serious incident in Las Vegas," she said.