Wyoming: People Injured After a Hot Air Balloon Crash

According to Jackson Hole Fire Chief Brady Hansen, three hot air balloons carrying a total of 35 people crashed into the ground on Monday morning in Wyoming.

In his words, Hansen said the authorities received a call just after 8 am local time that three sightseeing balloons had gone down near the foothills of the Teton Village Resort Community, located about 12 miles northwest of Jackson.

The officials also added that 11 people had been transported to a local hospital and one to a regional trauma center in Idaho Falls.

It was said that the unknown number of additional patients denied ambulance transport but later sought treatment in the hospital on their own.

The crash occurred at south of Teton Village, and the balloons were found across a stretch of land that was less than half a mile, the Teton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement obtained by NBC News.

The balloons were caught in an unexpected wind, which might have caused the crash but a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate the cause of the crash.

More so, in an interview with the Jackson Hole News and Guide, Clint Philips, a Texas resident who was in one of the balloons, carrying 20 people in it.

“I couldn’t believe how beautiful everything was,” he told the newspaper. “And then we were in hell a few minutes later. It was crazy.”

A 12-year-old boy who was in another balloon with his family told the newspaper that their captain fell out while they remained in its basket.

“We bounced and went back up in the air by ourselves,” he told the News & Guide, adding that other people were on the ground hurt.”

The sheriff’s office said the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.