Sixteen dead after hot air balloon catches fires and crashes in Texas

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A hot air balloon carrying 16 people caught fire and crashed into fields near Lockhart in central Texas. Local media report several people were killed. Paramedics are already on the scene.

More soon.


 
No survivors in the crash confirmed by Caldwell County Sheriff's Office.
 
FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have sent experts to the scene to investigate.
 
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the crash took place 30 miles (48km) south of state capital Austin at about 7.40 a.m. on Saturday morning.
 
First photo from scene



Photo by Marcus Officer.
 
Caldwell County Sheriff's Office said in a statement: 'Investigators are determining the number and the identities of victims at this time.'
 
The worst-ever hot air balloon crash occurred in Luxor, Egypt in 2013. It resulted in the deaths of 19 of the 21 passengers on board, after the contraption caught fire when attempting to land. In 2012, a crash in Slovenia, killed six people, when a balloon was blown towards the ground by a storm, and in New Zealand, 11 people died, after a tourist balloon became tangled in a power line. In both cases, the gas-powered aerostats were engulfed in rapidly-spreading flames.

If the death toll is confirmed, this will be the second-deadliest ballooning accident in history.
 
Reported fire was in the basket portion of a hot air balloon according to Caldwell County Sheriff's Office.
 
The passengers were 26 minutes into an hour-long ride when the balloon crashed.

A huge field which has power lines running through it has been cordoned off by police.
 
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