25 June 2023 , 11:45
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A man in his 20s has died in a horrific hot air balloon crash after the craft burst into flames mid-air.
Pictures show the balloon hundreds of feet in the air moments before it plunged and crashed into trees near Ombersley Court, Worcestershire at around 6.20am today.
Firefighters, paramedics and police rushed to the scene but, despite their best efforts, were sadly unable to save the male pilot.
This weekend saw hundreds enjoying the first ever Worcester Balloon Festival at the city's racecourse.
The festival was cancelled last month due to bad weather and was rearranged to take place from Friday to Saturday evening.
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An event spokesperson said the balloon which crashed was independent, and not connected to the festival.
This weekend saw hundreds enjoying the first ever Worcester Balloon Festival at the city's racecourseThey said: "There was an incident this morning, under investigation, it wasn’t the festival it was independent.
"The festival finished last night, it was not connected to the festival."
The tragedy has been reported to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) who tweeted they were “deploying a team to the site”.
A West Mercia Police spokesperson said: “At 6.20am this morning police received a call a hot air balloon had deflated and fallen to the ground near the A449 at Ombersley.
“The balloon fell to the ground in a field off Holt Fleet Road, near Ombersley Court. Emergency services attended and unfortunately a man was pronounced dead by paramedics.
“The Air Accident Investigation Branch will now carry out an investigation.”
The man was aged in his 20s, added the force.
His family are now being supported by specialist family liaison officers.
Witnesses described seeing a “fireball” and heard “screaming” coming from the balloon as it plummeted to the ground.
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One said: “There were lots of balloons in the sky because it was clear and sunny despite being so early. Suddenly there was a flash and what looked like a fireball coming from a blue balloon and it just dropped like a stone.
“My wife heard terrible screaming and then silence. We called the emergency services but had difficulty getting through on the 999 number because it was down.
Balloons in the sky before the fatal incident above Ombersley Court (SWNS)“We finally got through but it was just too high for anyone to survive. It was a terrible thing to see."
Another witness was driving along the A449 from Kidderminster to Worcester at 6.15am when he saw the balloon explode.
He said: "I told my partner to take a picture because the balloons looked lovely. Seconds later one of them burst into flames and plummeted to the ground.
"Once it caught fire it went up like tissue paper, it was burnt in about 10 seconds. We couldn’t believe it.
"We thought from that height there would definitely be a fatality. It fell like a rocket and shook us up to watch."
A spokesperson for Hereford and Worcestershire Fire Service added: "We went out to an incident involving a hot air balloon in Ombersley on the Holt Fleet Road.
"We had a call at 6.23am, crews from Worcester, Droitwich, Wyre Forest, Evesham and Bromsgrove.
"We have left the scene now, but we have left it to the police."