4 killed in hot air balloon crash
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) - A hot air balloon carrying 32 people, including children, was swept up in a storm and crashed in a fireball outside Slovenia's capital on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 28 others, police and doctors said.
Milan Znidarsic from Ljubljana's Medical Center said four charred bodies were found at the scene of the crash, some 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the capital. Znidarsic did not say if any children were among those killed.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
The official STA news agency said two hot air balloons were in the air at the time of the crash. The agency quoted eyewitnesses saying that one of the balloons caught fire while trying to land in a storm. The other balloon landed safely, the report said.
The head of the firefighting team, Tomaz Kucic, said that by the time firefighters got to the scene the balloon was already burning on the ground. Kucic did not specify whether the balloon caught fire while still in the air, or after it crashed.
Znidarsic said that 21 people were admitted in the Ljubljana hospital, while seven more were taken to other hospitals.
Milan Znidarsic from Ljubljana's Medical Center said four charred bodies were found at the scene of the crash, some 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the capital. Znidarsic did not say if any children were among those killed.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
The official STA news agency said two hot air balloons were in the air at the time of the crash. The agency quoted eyewitnesses saying that one of the balloons caught fire while trying to land in a storm. The other balloon landed safely, the report said.
The head of the firefighting team, Tomaz Kucic, said that by the time firefighters got to the scene the balloon was already burning on the ground. Kucic did not specify whether the balloon caught fire while still in the air, or after it crashed.
Znidarsic said that 21 people were admitted in the Ljubljana hospital, while seven more were taken to other hospitals.
There is a photo of what seems to be the gondola platform at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19354150 - it does look like it could carry 32 insane tourists...
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I didn't know you could put 32 people in a hot air balloon.
@mstipton It must have been a very large balloon with a huge basket ... either that or it was very overloaded (if so, that may have contributed to the crash.)
@mstipton ive been in a hot air ballon in AZ, it held 5 of us, but that was it. That has to be a typo, 32 people
Makes you wonder if storms were called for that day or if it was one of those that popped up out of the blue. Â Condolences to the families of this horrible accident.