Emergency landing ends record balloon flight

LABRADOR CITY, N. L.— Rescue officials are working to recover a gas balloon from woods near the Quebec-Labrador border after a record-shattering balloon odyssey across the continent ended in an emergency landing in the remote region.

Joe Power, fire chief of the Labrador City Fire Rescue, said Thursday attempts are underway to free the balloon from an isolated ridge about a kilometre from Lake Lorraine.

Two Swiss pilots taking part in a gas-balloon distance race landed near the northern Quebec border after travelling 3,666 kilometres from Albuquerque, N.M.

“I didn’t know if it was serious. We’re in Labrador and this time of year we’re getting a little bit of snow,” Power said. “It’s not like you see a balloon here in the sky even in July.”

The Swiss pilots were rescued by helicopter Tuesday morning, but recovering the large air balloon has proven more difficult, he said.

The pilots, Nicolas Tieche and Laurent Sciboz, are expected to fly back to Albuquerque, where they’ll receive accolades for smashing the previous distance record of 3,215 kilometres set in 2000.

THE CANADIAN PRESS Swiss balloonists Nicolas Tieche, left, and Laurent Sciboz shattered the previous gas-balloon distance record before their balloon went down near the Quebec-Labrador border, where they had to be rescued by helicopter.