(VORNews) – According to authorities, four people were killed and one critically injured in a serious hot air balloon crash in southern Arizona over the weekend.
Byron Gwaltney, chief of the Eloy Police Department, told reporters that eight skydivers survived the tragedy in “an empty field in a desert area” in Eloy, about 65 miles southeast of Phoenix and 55 miles northeast of Tucson.
A short time after the skydivers jumped from the balloon, Gwaltney said, “Something catastrophic happened with the balloon, leading to it crashing to the ground.” In a news conference, Eloy Mayor Micah Powell reported the balloon was carrying 13 adults, including its operator, four passengers, and eight skydivers.
“The world’s largest drop zone” for skydivers was where the impact occurred, Powell said.
How did the hot-air balloon crash happen?
Monday was the first day when the cause of the disaster was not immediately discovered.
“But eyewitnesses stated that in the last several seconds of the impact, the material of the hot air balloon was just straight up and down, and the impact was fairly large,” according to Powell.
When the gondola collapsed, there were five individuals within it, according to the officials, and one of them passed away at the site. Powell stated that three passengers were sent to a hospital, but they did not survive their stay there.
According to Powell, another passenger was sent to a trauma facility and was evaluated as being in critical condition on Sunday.
The NTSB and FAA are also investigating the fatal balloon crash
The National Transportation and Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are also conducting investigations into the crash, according to the police department, which is also conducting the probe.
“While we continue our efforts, we ask for your thoughts and support for the families and loved ones affected during this difficult time,” the police department stated in a statement Sunday.
Eloy Police Department, which withheld the names of the victims pending notification of next of kin, issued a statement expressing “deepest condolences to the families and friends of those involved in this heartbreaking incident.”
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