Balloon odyssey ends in emergency landing

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. Labrador City Fire Rescue Chief Joe Power, said Thursday attempts were 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. Power said when he received a call from Switzerland Tuesday morning about the emergency landing he thought it was a prank. “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,” he said Thursday.