RIO DE JANEIRO — A hot-air balloon caught fire and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil’s southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people, firefighters said.
Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames as it hurtled toward the ground in the municipality of Praia Grande.
On a video on social media, two people can be seen falling through the air as the fire spread onboard the aircraft.
Three people died hugging each other, said Ulisses Gabriel, chief of Santa Catarina’s civil police force, on X. “It hurts the soul.”
Thirteen people survived and were taken to hospitals, Santa Catarina’s military fire brigade said, adding that 21 people were on board including the pilot.
“We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened. But the important thing now is for the state structure to do what it can,” Gov. Jorginho Mello said in a video on X.
Mello said he has asked authorities to head to the municipality “to do as much as possible to rescue, to help, to take to hospital, to comfort the families.”
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his solidarity with victims’ families and said he was placing the federal government at the disposal of victims and local authorities.
“According to the pilot, who is one of the survivors, a fire started inside the basket and then he began to lower the balloon. When the balloon was very close to the ground, he ordered people to jump out of the basket,” Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper quoted Praia Grande head police officer Tiago Luiz Lemos as saying.
“Some of them didn’t manage to jump. The fire increased and the balloon ended up falling,” Lemos added.
G1 reported that the balloon’s expected flight time was 45 minutes, with the balloon reaching 1000 meters, and cost 550 reais (around $100) per passenger.
Sobrevoar, the company responsible for the multi-colored balloon, said it complied with all regulations and had a clean accident record prior to Saturday.
“Despite all necessary precautions and the efforts of our pilot — who has extensive experience and followed all recommended procedures in an attempt to save everyone on board the balloon — we are suffering from the pain caused by this tragedy,” it said in a statement.
Sobrevoar added that it was suspending all operations for an indefinite period.
Praia Grande is a common destination for hot-air ballooning, a popular activity in parts of southern Brazil.
Last Sunday, a balloon came down in Sao Paulo state, killing a 27-year-old woman and injuring 11 other people, G1 reported.
