A Hot air balloon crash injures 3

Three people were injured when a hot air balloon crashed in Chatfield State Park early Sunday morning, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

The balloon crashed on land near the swim beach at Chatfield Reservoir around 7:30 a.m., the sheriff’s office said in a tweet. Three passengers were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, another three passengers were not hurt.

A strong gust of wind is believed to have caused the crash, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jenny Fulton said, adding she believed the balloon had just taken off when it crashed.

The balloon was operated by Rocky Mountain Hot Air, a man who answered the phone there said Sunday. He declined further comment.

The National Transportation Safety Board typically handles investigations of hot air balloon crashes, Fulton said. A spokesman for the federal agency could not immediately say Sunday whether the NTSB was investigating the crash.