Two Dead in Canada Hot Air Balloon Fire

Two people confirmed dead in hot-air balloon tragedy, near Vancouver

By: 680News staff and Canadian Press
Saturday, August 25, 2007

Surrey, B.C. - Two people are dead after a hot-air balloon caught fire and
crashed to the ground, police confirmed Saturday.

The dead - a mother and a daughter - had been deemed missing after the
hot-air balloon burst into flames, plunging into Hazelmere Trailer Park in
Surrey, B.C. - near Vancouver.

It's not clear whether the two were in the balloon or on the ground when the
flaming balloon plunged into the RV park.

The incident, which also injured 11 others, occurred as the balloon was
trying to take off at sunset, Friday evening. According to witnesses, the
balloon was about 25 feet off the ground when it caught fire.

Sgt. Roger Morrow, with Surrey RCMP, said 15 ambulances, two air ambulances
and eight fire trucks raced to the campground.

The injured, treated for burns and broken bones in hospital, are expected to
live.

Local police told Vancouver's News1130 - 680News' sister station - witnesses
reported seeing something on fire jump from the balloon before it crashed
into three trailer homes. "Someone may have jumped from the balloon, which
was on fire," police said.

Police said family members watched the terrible scene unfold and they need
more time before the victims' names are made public.

Witnesses described the horrific events. Karen Ashby said she saw the
balloon explode on impact and everyone on the ground was running in a panic
like in a war zone.

Mike Braden also saw it happen and said the balloon was completely engulfed
in flames. He said after it crashed propane tanks were exploding and it
turned into an inferno.

Ashby calls the balloon pilot very responsible and she says the incident is
a tragic accident.

The Transportation Safety Board is investigating and police say it's too
early to release any information about the cause. Weather conditions were
clear at the time of the sunset flight.

Witnesses said plumes of smoke could be seen from kilometres away.

http://www.680news.com/news/local/ar...25_092342_6708




Witnesses to hot-air balloon crash describe horrific fiery crash

By: TERRI THEODORE
August 25, 2007

SURREY, B.C. (CP) - As a hot-air balloon burst into flames and plummeted
into an RV park, killing two people, a horrific scene of chaos and a raging
inferno ensued, witnesses said.

"I saw the balloon coming down on the front of the trailer and when it hit,
it exploded," said Karen Ashby.

"There were flames and fire, people running. Everybody was in a panic. It
was a shock. It was like a war zone here."

Family members of the two victims were among those who stood powerless on
the ground Friday evening, watching as the flaming balloon crashed directly
into a trailer.

Sgt. Roger Morrow of Surrey RCMP said the victims will not be identified
until at least early next week to give the family a chance to recover from
the shock of what they witnessed.

Eleven people were taken by ground and air ambulances to hospital with
serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Three trailers were destroyed, but luckily about seven people in the
trailers got out safely, said Ralph Zandergen, the owner of Hazelmere
Trailer Park.

There is little left of the three trailers now, said Zandergen, and the one
in the middle that was directly hit is just a pile of ashes and a few
propane tanks.

Mike Braden, 48, a resident of the RV park, said he looked out his window to
see the balloon and its basket in flames.

"The basket broke and it dropped on the trailer and beside the truck," he
said.

"It was totally engulfed in flames. (After it crashed), tires were blowing
and a few propane tanks went off and it was just an inferno."

One day later the smell of burnt plastic and smoke still permeates the area
and puddles of plastic dot the ground.

Ashby, 50, held back tears while she explained how she watched the coroner
sift through the blackened wreckage.

"They found the bodies in here," she said. "I watched them take them out."

Though the scene of destruction has Ashby shaken up, she defended the
actions of the balloon pilot. She said both her children and her husband
have been up in a balloon with the same pilot.

She said he was very responsible and that "you couldn't ask for a better
person that flies that balloon."

"That was a pure accident. Something malfunctioned. Something went wrong.
That man would have never done anything if he would have thought there would
be any harm to anybody."

The Transportation Safety Board is investigating. Police say it's premature
to speculate on a cause.

http://www.680news.com/news/national...ntent=n082566A


Pic: *A hot air balloon's basket bursts into flames shortly after takeoff
when it was about 25 feet off the ground in Surrey British Colombia Canada
Friday evening. (AP/Don Randall)*