Hot air balloon crash kills at least eight people sparking horror scenes | World | News

At least eight people have died following a hot air balloon crash in Brazil, according to authorities. In a post on X, the governor of Santa Catarina state Jorginho Mello said preliminary information indicates “there were 22 people on board”. “So far, we have confirmed eight deaths and two survivors were rescued alive,” he added.

Mr Mello added that rescue workers were at the scene searching for the other people who were on it. The incident reportedly took place in Praia Grande, a municipality in the Baixada Santista Metropolitan Region, on the coast of São Paulo in the south of the country.

Footage shared online showed the basket under the hot air balloon plummeting to the ground after it appeared to catch on fire in the sky before deflating.

The Santa Catarina fire department confirmed that 22 people were onboard the popular tourist attraction when disaster struck and that four people were found dead at the scene while other victims were being “treated, searched for and evaluated” by emergency workers.

The hot air balloon was operated by a commercial company that regularly offers trips over the Brazilian state’s rural and mountainous landscape, according to reports from local media.

It comes just days after another hot air balloon crashed in Turkey, killing a pilot and leaving 19 tourists injured after heavy winds forced an emergency descent.

The incident, which happened in central Turkey on Sunday, was linked to a sudden change in wind conditions, provincial governor Mehmet Ali Kumbuzoglu said.

A second balloon that took off from the same location was also forced to make an emergency landing on Sunday, with twelve holidaymakers sustaining slight injuries.