A guy in his 20s was tragically killed when a hot air balloon he was riding in exploded into a flame in the sky and crashed into the ground. There are pictures of the balloon's last moments in the sky while it was still hundreds of feet above the ground, as reported by Daily Mail.
Hot Air Balloon Burst in the Sky, Killing a 20-Year-Old Man
The balloon fell into trees on Holt Fleet Road, not far from Ombersley Court in Worcester, UK, at around 6:20 AM BST on Sunday, June 25.
Worcester was hosting its first-ever Balloon Festival at the city's racecourse when the disaster occurred. Last month's event was postponed owing to terrible weather, but the new date of Friday and Saturday, June 23-24, has been set.
Nevertheless, a representative for the Worcester Balloon Festival said they are not in any way related to the tragedy. "There was an incident this morning under investigation, it wasn't the festival it was independent. The festival finished last night [Saturday], it was not connected to the festival."
Apparently, the festival was celebrated seven miles (11km) away from the scene, BBC reported.
Despite the efforts of responding firefighters, paramedics, and police, the young male pilot was pronounced dead on the spot. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has been informed of the tragic event, and they have tweeted that they are deploying a team to the site.
A representative for the West Mercia Police stated: "At [6.20 am] this morning, police received a call a hot air balloon had deflated and fallen to the ground near the A449 at Ombersley ... Emergency services attended and unfortunately, a man was pronounced dead by paramedics. The Air Accident Investigation Branch will now carry out an investigation."
Witnesses Saw a 'Fireball' and Heard 'Screaming' From the Balloon
As the balloon descended toward the ground, Daily Mail said that onlookers reported seeing what they characterized as a "fireball" and hearing what they described as "screaming" emanating from the balloon.
One eyewitness described seeing "lots of balloons in the sky" due to the clear, bright conditions that persisted so early in the day. After what seemed like a split second, the blue balloon plummeted like a rock, and all that followed was a flash.
When trying to reach the emergency services, they were unable to get through since the 999 line was busy. "We finally got through but it was just too high for anyone to survive. It was a terrible thing to see," the witness stated.