The pilot of the hot-air balloon that today caught fire mid-air in southern Brazil urged passengers to jump before it crashed to the ground and killed eight, it has been revealed.
Chief of police of the Santa Catarina state Ulisses Gabriel revealed that the wind was ‘quite strong’ and that several people had to hold the balloon when it first took off.
‘There was a truck pulling the balloon with a cable, which was moving very intensely from side to side,’ he told Brazilian broadcaster Globo News.
Mr Gabriel added that it is possible gas leaked up due to the intense movement, ultimately causing the tarpaulin to burn.
‘Despite it being flame-retardant, there was an intense fire. The balloon went up and, after a while, ended up coming down, and that was when 13 people, including the pilot, managed to get out,’ he said.
But the balloon quickly rose back into the sky, with some passengers still on board.
That is when ‘people started to get desperate’, Mr Gabriel explained, adding how ‘some ended up jumping out of the basket. Those who stayed ended up dying from burns’.
The devastating crash happened in the Praia Grande region, which is a popular destination for hot-air ballooning.
Thirteen out of the 21 passengers on board survived, including the pilot.
Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames as it hurled toward the ground.
In a separate video circulating on social media, two people can be seen falling through the air as the fire spreads onboard the aircraft.
The cause of the accident is still being investigated and rescue teams are on the ground searching for those not accounted for, but Mr Gabriel also said the main hypotheses are currently adverse weather conditions or human error.
According to Brazilian outlet Jornal Razao, the pilot believes that the fire reportedly started in a back-up burner stored in the basket.
He explained: ‘I don’t know if it stayed lit or if it reignited on its own, but it was the torch that started it all.’
After noticing the flames, he immediately tried to lower the balloon, ordering passengers to jump when the craft got close to the ground.
News outlet G1 reported that the balloon’s expected flight time was 45 minutes, with the balloon reaching over 3000ft.
One witness told Jornal Razao earlier today: ‘We saw two people fall on fire. After the basket broke, the balloon fell completely.’
Another added: When we arrived, there were two people alive, a woman covered in mud, in shock, and a man limping.
‘In the pasture, there were two bodies near the horses. The balloon was deeper in the forest, on fire.
‘The firefighters asked us to move the cars because it could explode, because of the gas.’
One other commented: ‘They said it was not even a day to fly.
‘Before it fell, it caught fire up high. Two women jumped out and fell onto the rocks on the other side of the city.’
Residents said around 30 balloons were flying in the region on the morning of the accident, with the one that crashed one of the last to take off.
The coastal Praia Grande area where the shocking accident happened is well-known as a hot air ballooning destination, Brazilian news website G1 reports.
The spot in the extreme south of the Santa Catarina state is often referred to Brazilian Cappadocia, for its similarities to the famous tourist ballooning region in Turkey.
The state fire department said in a previous statement: ‘The Santa Catarina Military Fire Department (CBMSC) is currently responding to a balloon crash in the municipality of Praia Grande, in the south of the state, which occurred on the morning of Saturday, June 21.
‘The corporation confirms four deaths at the scene and the other victims are being treated, searched for and evaluated by our teams.’
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also expressed solidarity with the families and victims of the tragedy.
‘I would like to express my solidarity with the families of the victims of the balloon accident that occurred this Saturday morning in Santa Catarina. And I would like to place the Federal Government at the disposal of the victims and the state and municipal forces that are working on the rescue and care for the survivors.’
It comes less than a week after a woman died during a hot air balloon ride in the Brazilian city of São Paulo.
Juliana Alves Prado Pereira, 27, a psychologist from the Pouso Alegre region of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, was on a trip there with her husband Leandro de Aquino Pereira.
More than 30 people were onboard the hot air balloon – and 11 of them were injured.
This is a breaking news story. More updates to follow.
