Sixteen die in hot air balloon inferno
SIXTEEN people were killed yesterday when a hot-air balloon caught fire and plummeted to the ground.
Reports suggest the balloon’s wicker basket burst into flames after it hit an electricity pylon near the town of Lockhart, 30 miles from Austin, Texas.
Witnesses reported seeing smoke ‘pouring’ from an object caught in power lines.
The balloon was 26 minutes into a planned hour-long flight when it caught fire at about 7.40am local time.
A spokesman for the local County Sheriff’s department confirmed: ‘There are no survivors.’
The pilot of the balloon was last night named as Skip Nichols, a 30-year veteran of ballooning who stressed his safety record in a recent interview, saying: ‘Take-offs are optional but landings are required.’
He ran Heart Of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides and both his company and personal Facebook pages last night began to fill with tributes.
Friend Bonnie Agee wrote: ‘Such a devastating loss to all.’
The names and ages of other victims were not being released last night as relatives were still being informed.
Texas governor Greg Abbott said: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.’
Police and officials from America’s National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the crash at the scene last night. The Texas crash is the worst such incident since 2013 when a hot-air balloon caught fire and crashed in Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 tourists.