Arizona [US], January 16 : Four passengers were killed and one critically injured after a hot air balloon crash-landed in the Arizona desert, CNN reported.
The police announced that a group of skydivers jumped from the hot air balloon floating over the Arizona desert just moments before it crash-landed on Sunday. As a result of the crash, four of the remaining passengers died and another person was critically injured.
The incident happened at around 7:50 am (US local time) in Eloy, a city about 65 miles south of Phoenix, the local police department said in a news release. It came down in a desert area east of Sunshine Boulevard and Hanna Road.
The aircraft was carrying 13 adults - a balloon operator, four passengers and eight skydivers, according to Eloy Mayor Micah Powell, as per CNN.
Eloy Police Chief Byron Gwaltney said at a news conference that shortly after all the skydivers completed their planned jump from the aircraft, "something catastrophic occurred with the balloon, causing it to crash to the ground."
Though the exact cause of the crash is unknown, preliminary information suggests it occurred after the balloon had an "unspecified problem with its envelope," said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is investigating the incident, as per CNN.
A witness on the ground told authorities in the seconds leading up to the crash "the material of the hot air balloon was just straight up and down, and the impact was fairly, fairly large," the mayor said.
One person died on the scene and three others died after being taken to a hospital, according to the mayor. The person who was critically injured was transported to a trauma centre in Phoenix, he said.
On Monday, police identified the four victims as Chayton Wiescholek, 28, from Union City, Michigan; Kaitlynn Bartrom, 28, from Andrews, Indiana; Atahan Kiliccote, 24, from Cupertino, California; and Cornelius van der Walt, 37, originally from South Africa and residing in Eloy.
Van der Walt was the pilot, according to the Eloy Police Department.
The police said that Valerie Stutterheim, 23, from Scottsdale, Arizona, was critically injured in the incident.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with Ms. Stutterheim as she receives medical care," the police statement said.
NTSB investigators were at the scene on Sunday night, documenting the crash site and examining the aircraft, which will be brought to a secure facility for further analysis in the coming days, an agency spokesperson told CNN.
The aircraft was an A-160 passenger balloon manufactured by Cameron Balloons, according to the NTSB. The model can carry a pilot and up to seven riders, the manufacturer's website says. CNN has sought comment from Cameron Balloons.
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