The horrifying moment occurred when a hot air balloon packed with tourists suddenly plunged into a deep lake below and began to sink. The incident happened at a cherry blossom viewing spot in a park near Anshun city, Guizhou province, China.
According to witnesses, the balloon had problems shortly after takeoff. It could not inflate to its full capacity. Immediately after takeoff, it began to lose altitude. Strong winds continuously hit the balloon, making it unable to support itself.
Video footage filmed by people at the scene from below shows the balloon plummeting from a height of about 20m, falling quickly into the lake.
Hot air balloon carrying tourists to see cherry blossoms suddenly plunges into deep lake
As the balloon was being pulled by the wind across the water, people standing on the shore screamed in fear. At one point the basket containing the group of tourists almost sank into the water, but the balloon pilot still tried to turn on the burner to keep the balloon inflated. This helped prevent the tourists from falling completely into the water.
Rescuers arrived at the scene shortly after. All seven passengers, including a child, were brought safely to shore. According to local media, none of them were injured. However, Chinese media reported that the balloon operators did not have a license to operate the balloon.
The hot air balloon service to see cherry blossoms at the park has been temporarily suspended. Local authorities and police are still investigating the cause of the accident.
A similar incident involving a hot air balloon occurred in Egypt in July 2022. At that time, a large hot air balloon carrying 28 passengers suddenly fell from a height of 60m. At that time, the hot air balloon was preparing to land.
The balloon then lost its direction, was blown away by the wind, and crashed into another one that was floating in mid-air. The incident left two tourists with minor injuries and had to be treated in hospital.
Then, in April 2022, a hot air balloon carrying 13 tourists also had an accident and fell freely. It eventually crashed into a tree in a densely populated residential area. Fortunately, no one was injured in the accident. The pilot at the time said that one of the balloon's valves malfunctioned, forcing him to make an emergency landing.
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