At least eight dead after hot air balloon catches fire and crashes to the ground in Brazil
Rescue teams are searching for more injured after a hot air balloon crashed in Brazil.
Horrifying footage shows the moment the balloon caught alight and rapidly deflated before crashing to the ground on Saturday morning.
There were 21 people on board the balloon floating above the city of Praia Grande, around 670miles (1,081km) south of the capital of Brasília.
Of those on board the balloon, eight people died and 13 others survived, including the pilot.
Praia Grande head police officer Tiago Luiz Lemos told local media that the pilot tried to lower the balloon after a fire started inside the basket.
When the balloon was close to the ground, he told people to jump out – and videos captured at least two passengers falling through the air after leaping from the basket.
Jorginho Mello, Governor of the Santa Catarina state, said in a statement on X: ‘We are all shocked by the accident.
‘Our teams continue to provide all necessary support to families and victims.
‘We continue to monitor the situation.
‘We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened.
‘But the important thing now is for the state structure to do what it can.’
He went on to ask for authorities in the state to ‘do as much as possible to rescue, to help, to take to hospital, to comfort the families’.
Praia Grande is a popular destination for hot air ballooning. During the month of June, the activity becomes more common during festivities which celebrate Catholic saints such as Saint John.
It’s been less than a week since another hot air balloon fell in Sao Paulo state, killing a 27-year-old woman and injuring 11 others, local media reported.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.