Sixteen people have lost their lives after a hot air balloon burst into flames and plummeted to earth soon after dawn outside the town of Lockhart, south of Austin, Texas.
The hot air balloon which crashed in a fiery blaze on a rural field in central Texas, has been described as one of the deadliest hot air ballon accidents in the United states.
The balloon burst into flames and plummeted to earth soon after dawn outside the town of Lockhart, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Austin, Lynn Lunsford of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.
“When the Emergency Responders and the Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene, it was apparent that the reported fire was the basket portion of a hot air balloon,” the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted to Twitter.
Reporters at the scene, who gathered on a country road where passersby stopped to gawk in the searing Texas heat, were kept at arm’s length from the actual crash.
Local residents speculated that the balloon had struck a power line that runs prominently across the field.
“I didn’t see the balloon hit. I just heard the popping. And I heard the popping, and then the next thing I knew is the fireball went up,” Margaret Wylie, a 66-year-old who lives nearby and witnessed the crash, told broadcaster TWC News Austin.
FAA investigators were traveling to the site, Lunsford said, with the National Transportation Safety Board was taking charge of the probe.
The FBI’s evidence response team in the city of San Antonio was asked to assist in the investigation, NTSB lead investigator Erik Grosof said.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott offered condolences to those affected by the crash.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, as well as the Lockhart community,” he said in a statement.
A photo posted on social media apparently depicting the accident showed a balloon in the air with huge flames spurting underneath.
“It was a fire, a big ball of flames. You could tell nothing of what it was,” Don Schulle told local TV station KYTX, standing on the edge of the field where the balloon crashed.
Hot air balloons use propane gas to heat air that keeps them afloat. They are regulated by the FAA, which requires balloon pilots to be certified and for balloons to have air worthiness certificates.
The FAA inspects the balloons used for commercial ventures after 100 hours of flight time or at least once a year.
...AP Newa
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