Man in his 20s is killed in exploding sizzling air balloon horror: Witnesses watched ‘fireball’ balloon plunging to Earth – and reveal how they could not get by way of on 999 quantity as a result of emergency hotline was DOWN
- The balloon crashed in Worcester after bursting into flames earlier this morning
- Guests witnessing the incident attended first ever Worcester Balloon Pageant
Witnesses who watched a person die in a horrifying incident, that noticed a sizzling air balloon burst right into a fireball in mid-air earlier than plunging to the bottom, reveal they might not get by way of when calling 999.
Witnesses described seeing a ‘fireball’ and heard ‘screaming’ coming from the balloon because it plummeted to the bottom in Worcester, at round 6.20am.
One witness mentioned: ‘There have been numerous balloons within the sky as a result of it was clear and sunny regardless of being so early.
‘All of a sudden there was a flash and what appeared like a fireball coming from a blue balloon and it simply dropped like a stone.
‘My spouse heard horrible screaming after which silence.
‘We referred to as the emergency providers however had problem getting by way of on the 999 quantity as a result of it was down.
A person has died in a horrifying incident that noticed a sizzling air balloon burst right into a fireball
The balloon crashed into bushes off Holt Fleet Street, close to Ombersley Courtroom, Worcester, at round 6.20am
‘We lastly received by way of nevertheless it was simply too excessive for anybody to outlive. It was a horrible factor to see.’
The balloon crashed into bushes off Holt Fleet Street, close to Ombersley Courtroom, Worcester, at round 6.20am.
Photos present the balloon a whole bunch of ft within the air moments earlier than it plummeted in direction of earth.
The incident occurred as guests flocked to the primary ever Worcester Balloon Pageant on the metropolis’s racecourse.
The occasion was beforehand referred to as off final month because of unhealthy climate earlier than being rearranged to run from Friday to Saturday night.
A spokesperson for the Worcester Balloon Pageant mentioned: ‘There was an incident this morning, underneath investigation, it wasn’t the competition it was impartial.
‘The competition completed final night time, it was not related to the competition.’
Firefighters, paramedics and police rushed to the scene however had been unable to save lots of the male pilot who was declared useless on the scene.
A West Mercia Police spokesperson mentioned: ‘At 6.20am this morning police acquired a name a sizzling air balloon had deflated and fallen to the bottom close to the A449 at Ombersley.
‘The balloon fell to the bottom in a area off Holt Fleet Street, close to Ombersley Courtroom.
‘Emergency providers attended and sadly a person was pronounced useless by paramedics.
‘The Air Accident Investigation Department will now perform an investigation.’
Witnesses described seeing a ‘fireball’ and heard ‘screaming’ coming from the balloon because it plummeted to the bottom.
‘There have been numerous balloons within the sky as a result of it was clear and sunny regardless of being so early,’ one witness mentioned.
‘All of a sudden there was a flash and what appeared like a fireball coming from a blue balloon and it simply dropped like a stone.
‘My spouse heard horrible screaming after which silence.
The balloon burst into flames earlier than plummeting in direction of earth at 6.20am this morning
‘We referred to as the emergency providers however had problem getting by way of on the 999 quantity as a result of it was down.
‘We lastly received by way of nevertheless it was simply too excessive for anybody to outlive. It was a horrible factor to see.’
A spokesperson for Hereford and Worcestershire Hearth Service: ‘We went out to an incident involving a sizzling air balloon in Ombersley on the Holt Fleet Street.
‘We had a name at 6.23am, crews from Worcester, Droitwich, Wyre Forest, Evesham and Bromsgrove.
‘We have now left the scene now, however we’ve got left it to the police.’
The tragedy has been reported to the Air Accidents Investigation Department (AAIB) who tweeted they had been ‘deploying a staff to the positioning’
