A hot air balloon ride that was supposed to bring nothing but beautiful views took a hazardous turn.
The balloon carrying two passengers and a pilot struck power lines in northwestern Indiana and then crashed to the ground, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
It hit the power lines around 7pm on Sunday in Hebron, setting off a flash of light, a video recorded from a vehicle on a nearby road showed.
The balloon then crash landed on a field on the 19000 block of Mississippi Street, about 13 miles southeast of Hebron in an unincorporated area east of the town of Lowell.
Both passengers and the pilot were found inside the basket by first responders, and were injured.
‘The balloon envelope and basket were still attached to each other and 3 people were found inside the basket,’ wrote the Lowell Fire Department on Facebook.
‘There was evidence on the passenger basket that electrical current passed from the power lines to the basket and injured the three people in the basket.’
The passengers were airlifted, one to the University of Chicago and the other to Loyola Hospital, ‘due to the severe extent of the burn injuries’, according to the fire department.
Meanwhile, the pilot was taken by ambulance to Franciscan Hospital in Crown Point.
The FAA is investigating the crash site as well as damage to the basket and balloon.
Hebron is about 55 miles southeast of Chicago.
It is the latest hot air balloon accident to happen in the US.
In January, a hot air balloon crashed in the Arizona desert and killed four people, including a nurse and the pilot, and critically injured another passenger. The cause of the crash was not immediately determined.
And three years ago in June, a hot air balloon hit power lines in Albuquerque and crashed to the ground, killing three men and two women. (Metro)