Eight tourists dead, several more injured, after hot air balloon crash in Brazil
Eight people have died and a number of others have been injured in a hot air balloon accident in Brazil.
The Hot Air Balloon was carrying 21 people in total, 20 tourists and a local pilot, when it caught fire and plummeted to the ground over a canyon in 'Praia Grande' in the southern state of Santa Catarina.
Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed smoke coming from the balloon as it fell from the sky, in the early hours of Saturday morning in Brazil. Pic: X Hot Air Balloon accident – Santa Catarina Brazil
Thirteen people survived the crash and were taken to nearby hospitals, according to Santa Catarina's military fire brigade.
The Santa Catarina State Governor, Jorginho Mello said in a video on X: 'We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened.' Pic: X Hot Air Balloon Accident Brazil
There are unconfirmed reports of some people leaping from the balloon in an effort to escape the fire and there is video footage circulating of the balloon basket in flames as it fell to the ground.
A number of people have been taken to hospital but the extent of their injuries is not yet known. Balloon Ride At Praia Grande In Santa Catarina Brazil. Pic: Getty Images
The area of Praia Grande in the Southern part of Brazil is a very popular area for hot air ballooning enthusiasts and attracts extreme sport adventurers year round who partake in adrenaline sports, including ballooning, but todays accident is thought to have involved tourists on an early morning sightseeing flight.
Todays accident has stunned locals and holidaymakers alike, as investigators try to piece together exactly what could have happened to cause the balloon to catch fire as it did and catastrophically fall from the sky with the loss of so many lives.
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RTÉ News
11 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Eight people dead after Brazil hot-air balloon accident
At least eight people died after a hot-air balloon carrying 21 passengers, including the pilot, crashed in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina, state officials said. "Eight fatalities and 13 survivors," governor Jorginho Mello said on X, formerly Twitter. Videos taken by bystanders and carried on Brazilian television showed the moment when the balloon erupted in flames above the coastal town of Praia Grande. The weather conditions were clear. The basket carrying the passengers plummeted dozens of meters to the ground in flames. "We still have no information" about the condition of the survivors, a spokeswoman for Santa Catarina firefighters told AFP. Praia Grande, on the Atlantic coast, is a popular destination for hot-air ballooning in Brazil. The survivors were being treated in area hospitals, firefighters said. An investigation was launched to determine the cause of the accident. "I want to express my solidarity with the families of the victims," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a statement. The pilot told officials that the fire was sparked by a blowtorch in the basket, Tiago Luiz Lemos, a police official in Praia Grande, told local media. The pilot tried to bring the balloon down as soon as the fire erupted, "and once it was close to the ground, he told the passengers to jump from the basket. But some of them couldn't do it and the fire grew", the official said. One witness told the Razão newspaper that he saw "two people falling, they were on fire, the basket broke off and the balloon fell". It was the second fatal balloon accident in the country in just a few days.
Extra.ie
12 hours ago
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Eight tourists dead, several more injured, after hot air balloon crash in Brazil
Eight people have died and a number of others have been injured in a hot air balloon accident in Brazil. The Hot Air Balloon was carrying 21 people in total, 20 tourists and a local pilot, when it caught fire and plummeted to the ground over a canyon in 'Praia Grande' in the southern state of Santa Catarina. Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed smoke coming from the balloon as it fell from the sky, in the early hours of Saturday morning in Brazil. Pic: X Hot Air Balloon accident – Santa Catarina Brazil Thirteen people survived the crash and were taken to nearby hospitals, according to Santa Catarina's military fire brigade. The Santa Catarina State Governor, Jorginho Mello said in a video on X: 'We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened.' Pic: X Hot Air Balloon Accident Brazil There are unconfirmed reports of some people leaping from the balloon in an effort to escape the fire and there is video footage circulating of the balloon basket in flames as it fell to the ground. A number of people have been taken to hospital but the extent of their injuries is not yet known. Balloon Ride At Praia Grande In Santa Catarina Brazil. Pic: Getty Images The area of Praia Grande in the Southern part of Brazil is a very popular area for hot air ballooning enthusiasts and attracts extreme sport adventurers year round who partake in adrenaline sports, including ballooning, but todays accident is thought to have involved tourists on an early morning sightseeing flight. Todays accident has stunned locals and holidaymakers alike, as investigators try to piece together exactly what could have happened to cause the balloon to catch fire as it did and catastrophically fall from the sky with the loss of so many lives.
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