11 dead in hot air balloon tragedy
All on board a hot air balloon that crashed near Carterton this morning have died.
Police have confirmed that there were ‘multiple deaths’ when the balloon crashed close to the Clareville showgrounds.
There were 11 people on board the scenic flight and were no survivors.
One witness described flames bursting from the balloon’s basket as it hit the ground.
David McKinlay, a Hornesberry St resident, said ”It looked as if he had tried to take it higher. It was just flames and it was just a long streak of flames. Probably about 10 metres long. The impact must have been terrible.”
McKinlay, who called 111, saw the flames shooting out of the basket of the dark blue and maroon striped balloon.
After alerting emergency services, he said the balloon was 150 metres in the air and dropped quickly, describing it as ”just a sheer flame as it hit the ground.”
“It came down like a bloody rocket and then there was a big bang,” he said.