ISTANBUL — A scorching air balloon crashed in central Turkey on Sunday, leaving its pilot lifeless and 19 Indonesian vacationers injured, an area official mentioned.
In a press release, the governor’s workplace mentioned the balloon was affected by a sudden change of wind.
It was attempting to make a tough touchdown close to the village of Gozlukuyu in Aksaray province, when the pilot fell out of the balloon’s basket and his toes acquired tangled in a rope, Aksaray Governor Mehmet Ali Kumbuzoglu mentioned.
“Sadly, our pilot acquired caught below the basket and died,” he mentioned, including that the injured vacationers had been taken to a hospital.
Scorching air ballooning is a well-liked vacationer exercise over the rugged panorama of central Turkey, which is dotted with historic church buildings hewn into cliff faces. The sights embody the “fairy chimneys” of Cappadocia — the tall, cone-shaped rock formations created by pure erosion over hundreds of years which can be a UNESCO World Heritage Web site.
Video from Ilhas Information Company confirmed one deflated balloon, its passenger basket mendacity on its aspect, as emergency providers tended to injured folks. An investigation is underway.
State-run Anadolu Company mentioned one other scorching air balloon taking off from the identical location of Ilhara Valley additionally made a tough touchdown early Sunday morning, and that 12 Indian vacationers had been barely injured and brought to hospital.
Two Spanish vacationers had been killed in 2022 when a scorching air balloon made a tough touchdown following a sightseeing tour of Cappadocia.