8 killed, 13 injured after hot-air balloon catches hearth and falls in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO — A hot-air balloon caught hearth and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil ’s southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight folks, firefighters stated.

Footage shared by native information outlet G1 confirmed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames because it hurtled towards the bottom within the municipality of Praia Grande.

13 folks survived and had been taken to hospitals, Santa Catarina’s navy hearth brigade stated, including that 21 folks had been on board together with the pilot.

“We’re in mourning. A tragedy has occurred. We’ll see the way it unfolds, what occurred, why it occurred. However the essential factor now could be for the state construction to do what it could possibly,” Gov. Jorginho Mello stated in a video on X.

Mello stated he has requested authorities to move to the municipality “to do as a lot as attainable to rescue, to assist, to take to hospital, to consolation the households.”

Praia Grande is a typical vacation spot for hot-air ballooning, a preferred exercise in some elements of Brazil’s south throughout June festivities that remember Catholic saints akin to St. John.

Final Sunday, a balloon got here down in Sao Paulo state, killing a 27-year-old lady and injuring 11 different folks, G1 reported.