16 people died in the hot air balloon crash in Central Texas
A fire is thought to have broken out in the basket section of the balloon mid-flight before it came down in a pasture in Lockhart, Texas at 7.40am local time, leaving no survivors. At least 16 people died in the hot air balloon crash in Central Texas, the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday, adding that investigators are still trying to determine the exact number of passengers and what caused the accident.
"When balloons go out on these flights, they have a chase couple of cars to go pick up the riders after they've landed in a field somewhere. We think there may be some chase footage from those cars," Sumwalt said.
The crash happened in farmland, and cutting through it is a row of massive high-capacity electrical transmission lines. The site of the crash appears to be right below the overhead lines and aerial photos showed an area of charred pasture underneath, but authorities haven't provided further details about what happened.
Margaret Wylie lives about a quarter-mile from the crash site and told The Associated Press that she was letting her dog out Saturday morning when she heard a "pop, pop, pop."
"I looked around and it was like a fireball going up," she said, noting that the fireball was under large power lines and almost high enough to reach the bottom of them.
Wylie, who called 911, said the weather seemed clear and that she frequently sees hot air balloons in the area.
