Tragedy struck a group of tourists taking a scenic hot-air-balloon ride in southern Brazil today. The balloon caught fire in the air and plummeted to the ground with 21 people on board. Miraculously, 13 people survived with injuries, but eight others died.
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A shocking video of the balloon catching fire surfaced on social media. In the video, two people appear to jump from the balloon before it starts falling. Shortly after the fire starts, the balloon collapses and the basket falls from the sky. Local news reports that the pilot, who survived, instructed passengers to jump from the basket as soon as it was close enough to the ground.
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Media company G1 reports: “A balloon [. . .] crashed this Saturday morning (21st) in Praia Grande, in the south of Santa Catarina, after catching fire during the flight. The city is known for being one of the main ballooning destinations in the country. According to the Fire Department, eight deaths have been confirmed so far. The teams are still at the scene carrying out consultations and searches. The causes of the accident are still being determined.”
Watch the moment a hot air balloon plummets from the sky in Brazil (viewer discretion advised):
The hot-air-balloon company, Sobrevoar, released a statement just a couple of hours ago in Portuguese:
This story is still developing and details may change as the investigation runs its course.
Header stock image by Cristian Lourenço/Getty Images
