Albuquerque tragedy: five people died in hot air balloon crash

At New Mexico, five people died after hot air balloon they were flying in, it struck power cables in the largest city in that U.S. state, and the gondola crashed to the ground, police reported on Saturday.

The crash happened around 7 a.m. in western Albuquerque, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. The identities of the victims were not released, but authorities said three men, including the pilot, and two women were killed.

Four of them were pronounced dead at the scene and the fifth person died after being taken to hospital in serious condition, Gallegos added.

The multicolored balloon grazed the upper part of the electric cables, making at least one of them hanged and leaving more than 13,000 homes without electricity, detailed the spokesman of the police force.

The gondola fell about 30 meters and struck the middle of a busy street, catching fire, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In a video posted online, passers-by desperately ask for a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.

The balloon envelope flew off and eventually fell on the roof of a house, Gallegos said. The FAA didn’t have the details of the ball’s record at the time, but identified it as a 0-120 Cameron.

Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched two investigators to the scene on Saturday, who will examine the pilot, the balloon itself and the operating conditions, spokesman Peter Knudson said. The preliminary report usually takes a few weeks.

Gallegos said hot air balloons can be difficult to maneuver, especially when the wind is strong.

“Our aeronauts tend to be navigation experts, but sometimes these kinds of tragic accidents happen,” he said.

Albuquerque is the hot air festival mecca. The city hosts a nine-day event in October that draws thousands of spectators and riders from around the world. It is one of the most photographed events on the planet.

In contrast, Mexican rescuers arrived in the landslide in Surfside, Miami to aid in the rescue and recovery of bodies that were trapped under the rubble of a 12-story residential building that collapsed at dawn last Thursday. Authorities continue to make efforts to have a count of the total number of people who were in the collapsed building, however, there is still no clear figure. What we know is that the death toll already stands at 9 while there are 159 others who could not be located by their relatives.

Miami Mayor Charles Burket confirmed arrival of Mexican lifeguards, although he did not specify the number of people who make up the group. This in an interview with the American news television channel ABC.

Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard expressed yesterday via his Twitter account that “Mexico offers its solidarity and support in all that is necessary for the work of the relief corps ”. In addition, he sent “Our deepest condolences to all affected by the landslide in Surfside, Florida”.

According to experts in the region, despite the fact that 4 days have passed since the collapse, there are still chances to find people alive under the rubble. However, rescue efforts have been slow, so United States President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in the state of Florida in order to allocate more resources from the federal government to complete the efforts of the local population.

“The president’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts,” were the words with which the White House announced the decision Taken from the office of the President of the United States.

The Mexican Ministry of External Relations (SRE) clarified that so far there has been no presence of nationals among the victims of the collapse. However, they count 18 Latin American citizens from Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. In addition, there are also victims of the Jewish community in Florida, which is why the presence of 10 experts sent from Israel to support the rescue efforts also stands out.

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