Fiery hot-air balloon tragedy kills at least 8 people: ‘We are in mourning’

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Hot-air balloon crash in Brazil leaves 8 dead

Authorities investigate Saturday after a hot-air balloon crashed in Brazil’s southern state of Santa Catarina. (Credit: Santa Catarina Military Fire Brigade / Reuters)

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A hot-air balloon carrying 21 people in Brazil caught fire Saturday morning and crashed, killing at least eight people, Santa Catarina’s military fire brigade said. 

The crash happened in Santa Catarina, a state in Brazil’s south, after the fire started in the basket, forcing the pilot to attempt to land, officials said. 

Video shared on social media shows black smoke billowing over the deflated balloon as it hurtles toward the ground in a wooded area near the town of Praia Grande, which is popular for hot-air ballooning. 

The 13 survivors, including the pilot, were taken to hospitals with unknown injuries. 

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A hot-air balloon carrying 21 people in Brazil caught fire Saturday morning and crashed, killing at least eight people, Santa Catarina’s military fire brigade said.  (CBMSC/Brazil/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The survivors managed to live by jumping out of the balloon when the fire first began, officials said. 

The balloon at first began to rise again once some of the passengers had jumped out. 

“These people ended up dying — four charred, and another four jumped out of the balloon when it was falling,” Lt. Col. Zevir Cipriano Jr. said. 

“We are in mourning,” Santa Catarina Gov. Jorginho Mello said in a video on X. “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 added that he’s asked authorities “to do as much as possible” to help the victims and their families. 

Three of the victims died hugging each other, Santa Catarina’s civil police force Chief Ulisses Gabriel said on social media. 

“It hurts the soul,” he said. 

Emergency services operate in the area where a hot-air balloon crashed, leaving at least eight dead in Santa Catarina, Brazil, Saturday.  (CBMSC/Brazil/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Costing $100 per person, the ride was expected to be 45 minutes long and reach 3,280 feet. It’s not clear what height the balloon was at when it started to fall. 

“Despite all necessary precautions and the efforts of our pilot — who has extensive experience and followed all recommended procedures in an attempt to save everyone on board the balloon — we are suffering from the pain caused by this tragedy,” the hot-air balloon company Sobrevoar said in a statement.

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Sobrevoar added that it had followed all regulations for the ride and had a clear record previously. It is now suspending its operations indefinitely. 

Around 25 to 30 hot-air balloon trips leave daily from the area, the government said. 

A member of Brazil’s Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA) walks next to the wreckage of a hot-air balloon that caught fire and crashed with 21 people on board in Praia Grande, Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, Saturday.  (Silvio Avila/AFP via Getty Images)

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his solidarity with the victims’ families and said the federal government was available to help with the investigation. 

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Last Sunday, another hot-air balloon crashed in Brazil’s state of São Paulo, killing one woman and injuring 11 others. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.