United States: hot air balloon crashes into power line killing five

Five people have died in a hot air balloon crash in Albuquerque, southwestern United States, city police said on Saturday.

For a few hours, the accident caused power cuts in the area, the balloon having come into contact with an electric line. The basket, which was carrying five people, caught fire on contact with the line, before crashing into the street. The balloon flew, before crashing further, as shown in a video transmitted by a local presenter.

“Unfortunately, four individuals died of their injuries related to the balloon accident,” said first on Twitter Albuquerque Police. A fifth person, “taken to a local hospital in critical and unstable condition,” ultimately died of his injuries, according to a police spokesperson quoted by CNN.

The deceased pilot

The five victims are two women and three men, including the pilot of the balloon, aged between 40 and 60 years. Reacting to the accident, the city’s mayor, Tim Keller, said he was “heartbroken” on Twitter. “This is a terrible tragedy for our city and for the community of balloon enthusiasts around the world,” he continued.

As of early Saturday morning, some 13,000 people were without electricity as a result of the accident, local electricity company PNM said on Twitter. Power was subsequently restored “for all affected customers,” she said.

At this stage, the circumstances of the accident are unknown. The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is famous for hosting many hot air balloon flights, with experienced pilots.