Terrifying moment hot air balloon crashes into Chinese lake, drags screaming tourists through the water and starts to SINK
- Balloon was part of sightseeing ride to view cherry blossoms in a park in China
- It lost height soon after take off as it was unable to inflate and crashed into a lake
- None of the seven passengers were injured in the crash from 70ft in the air
A hot air balloon packed with tourists crashed into a lake and started sinking, terrifying footage has shown.
Horrified witnesses watched on as the sightseeing ride to view cherry blossom trees in a country park near the city of Anshun, Guizhou Province, China, went horribly wrong.
The hot air balloon with seven people onboard began to lose height soon after takeoff at the Gui’an Cherry Garden when it seemed unable to inflate properly.
Strong winds can be seen battering the balloon almost as soon as it takes off.
A video taken by a bystander shows the flight suddenly taking a steep dive from nearly 70 feet in the air and crashing into a deep reservoir.
Horrified witnesses watched on as the sightseeing ride to view cherry blossom trees in a country park near the city of Anshun, Guizhou Province, China went horribly wrong. The hot air balloon with seven people onboard began to lose height soon after takeoff at the Gui’an Cherry Garden when it seemed unable to inflate properly
In the footage – shared later on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok – horrified witnesses scream as the balloon is dragged through the water by the winds. At one point it looks as if the balloon’s basket will disappear underwater completely, but the pilot used the gas burner to keep the balloon inflated and managed to stop it from sinking
In the footage – shared later on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok – horrified witnesses scream as the balloon is dragged through the water by the winds.
At one point it looks as if the balloon’s basket will disappear underwater completely, but the pilot used the gas burner to keep the balloon inflated and managed to stop it from sinking.
Rescuers eventually arrive and pull the passengers – including one child – ashore.
Local media outlets reported that no one was injured in the crash.
Now it has emerged that the flight operators may not even have had a licence to carry passengers.
The park suspended the sightseeing ride while they investigate the accident.
Similar accidents involving hot air balloons happened all over the world last year, like an incident in Egypt, where a hot air balloon carrying 28 Western tourists plummeted from 200ft before crash landing blowing off course reportedly hitting another balloon mid-air.
Two passengers were ‘lightly injured’ in the crash in July 2022 and required medical treatment in a nearby hospital.
Strong winds can be seen battering the balloon almost as soon as it takes off. A video taken by a bystander shows the flight suddenly taking a steep dive from nearly 70 feet in the air and crashing into a deep reservoir.
Another accident, this time in California in April last year, was shared by a passenger on TikTok.
The hot air balloon crashed into a field after winds picked up while everybody onboard screamed: ‘Hang On!’. Despite the severity of the crash, no one was injured.
On the other side of the world in Melbourne, also in April last year, a hot air balloon holding 13 passengers fell from the sky and crashed into a tree on a residential street.
Before the crash, the passengers were told to enter the ‘landing position’. No one was injured. The pilot said afterwards that one of balloon’s valves malfunctioned, forcing him to crash-land.
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