A young man in his 20s was reportedly killed on Sunday aboard a hot air balloon, which caught fire before falling “like a stone”, according to witnesses at the scene.
“All of a sudden there was lightning and what looked like a fireball coming out of a blue hot air balloon and it fell like a rock. My wife heard a horrible scream and then silence,” a witness to the scene told The Mirror on Sunday, according to The Independent.
West Mercia Police reportedly received a call around 6.20am on Sunday morning to say that a hot air balloon in Worcestershire, UK, had ‘deflated’ before falling to the ground, a police spokesman told British media.
“The hot air balloon fell in a field off Holt Fleet Road, near Ombersley Court. “The emergency services were on site and unfortunately a man was pronounced dead by the paramedics,” the spokesman continued.
Worcester’s first-ever balloon festival took place over the weekend, although it appears the incident happened outside the festival site, according to a representative.
“There was an incident this morning that is being investigated, but it wasn’t the festival. It was independent. “The festival ended last night, there was no connection,” he would have continued.
An investigation has been launched by the Air Accident Investigation Department, according to The Independent.