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Hot Air Balloon Crash Leaves Five People Dead After Horror Plunge From The Sky

Hot Air Balloon Crash Leaves Five People Dead After Horror Plunge From The Sky

A hot air balloon crash in Albuquerque, New Mexico, killed five people including the pilot

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

WARNING: CONTAINS DISTRESSING CONTENT

Five people have been killed in a hot air balloon crash in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the city's police department has confirmed.

Police said the basket detached from the balloon and crashed early on Saturday morning (26 June), in turn cutting off power to more than 13,000 people in the area.

Two men - including the pilot - and two women died in the crash, while a fifth person was taken to hospital in critical condition but later passed away.

Witnesses on social media described seeing the hot air balloon falling from the sky without its basket after losing power, with one person tweeting a video of what they saw from their window.

"Power went out first," they wrote.

"Looked out my window saw it falling with no basket. Horrible."

PA

Albuquerque Police confirmed on Twitter that its officers were responding to 'a hot air balloon crash in the area of Central Ave and Unser Blvd where a balloon appears to have hit a power line'.

Police said power was out in the area as a result of the crash, before adding in a later update that four people had died.

A statement said: "Unfortunately, 4 individuals died as a result of their wounds from the hot air balloon crash. One additional individual was transported to a local hospital and is currently in critical and unstable condition. @PNMtalk is on scene as power is still out in the area."

PA

Sadly, a fifth person later died in hospital, with police saying: "The male adult who was transported to the hospital succumbed to his wounds.

"Our prayers go out to the friends and family of all five people who tragically lost their lives."

A local called Joshua Perez, who was at the gym when he heard the crash and rushed out to help, told KOB4 News: "To see a balloon go down like this, it's heart-breaking."

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller.
PA

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said at a press briefing on Saturday afternoon: "Every time when we look up at the sky and see those beautiful balloons or watch the [Albuquerque International] Balloon Fiesta, and we always think about the wonderful thing that it is that we have this in our community. But we also know that sometimes accidents do happen.

"This is a tragedy that is uniquely felt, uniquely hits hard at home here in Albuquerque, and in the ballooning community."

Keller added that it's too early to make a statement on the cause of the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, US News