RIO DE JANEIRO — A hot-air balloon caught hearth and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil ’s southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight folks, firefighters mentioned.
Footage shared by native information outlet G1 confirmed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames because it hurtled towards the bottom within the municipality of Praia Grande.
13 folks survived and have been taken to hospitals, Santa Catarina’s army hearth brigade mentioned, including that 21 folks have been on board together with the pilot.
“We’re in mourning. A tragedy has occurred. We are going to see the way it unfolds, what occurred, why it occurred. However the vital factor now could be for the state construction to do what it might,” Gov. Jorginho Mello mentioned in a video on X.
Mello mentioned he has requested authorities to move to the municipality “to do as a lot as attainable to rescue, to assist, to take to hospital, to consolation the households.”
Praia Grande is a standard vacation spot for hot-air ballooning, a preferred exercise in some components of Brazil’s south throughout June festivities that remember Catholic saints corresponding to St. John.
Final Sunday, a balloon got here down in Sao Paulo state, killing a 27-year-old lady and injuring 11 different folks, G1 reported.