Eight die in hot air balloon accident in Brazil

A hot air balloon crash in southern Brazil has claimed the lives of at least eight people, according to the BBC.

There were 21 people on board the balloon in the city of Praia Grande on Saturday morning, Jorginho Mello posted on X. Thirteen people, including the pilot, survived and no one is missing, the state government press office reported.

Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency said it was taking "all necessary steps to investigate the condition of the aircraft and the crew".

“According to the pilot, who is one of the survivors, a fire started inside the basket, so he started to lower the balloon, and when the balloon was very close to the ground, he told people to jump,” officer Tiago Luiz Lemos, from the Praia Grande police station, told reporters at the scene.

The victims were two couples, a mother and daughter, an ophthalmologist, and a figure skater. The survivors were taken to nearby hospitals.

Balloon tour company Sobrevoar Serviços Turísticos, which operated the flight, has now suspended its activities indefinitely.
It said it had complied with all regulations set by Anac and had had no prior history of accidents.

In a video also posted on X, Mello, who is on an official mission in China, said he had sent ‘the entire state structure’ to ‘rescue, help and comfort the families’ and was continuing to monitor the situation.

"We are in mourning, what happened is a tragedy," he added.

"We will investigate why this happened. But the important thing now is to do everything possible to reach out to the people and the families."

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva posted on X expressing his "solidarity with the families of the victims".

He said he had placed "the federal government at the disposal of the victims" and that "state and municipal forces " were working on the rescue and care of the survivors.

Praia Grande, in southern Santa Catarina, is a popular tourist destination known for its ballooning activities.