A hot air balloon carrying 21 passengers crashed on Saturday in Santa Katrina, the southern state of Brazil. At least eight people died in this accident. According to fire department officials, a hot balloon caught fire during the morning flight and crashed in the city of Priya Grande. There were 21 people in the balloon at the time of the accident. The video of this accident is viral on social media, in which it can be seen that at a height of about 100 feet from the ground, a hot balloon is caught and it is destroyed. People sitting in the balloon fall down.
8 people died and 13 were seriously injured in this accident. The survivors were admitted to the nearby hospital for treatment. According to Santa Katrina Governor Georginho Melo, the incident occurred on Saturday morning. He confirmed the casualties in a post on X. Mello wrote, ‘We are all shocked by an accident related to a hot air balloon in Priya Grande on Saturday morning. Our rescue team is already on the spot. So far, we have confirmed eight deaths. Officials have not yet confirmed the cause of fire in hot air balloon and have started investigation.
Moment Burning Hot Air Ballon plummets to ground
Terrifying footage of travel in southern brazil
Officials say at least 8 dead and 2 survivors pic.twitter.com/Q2BC3Qznww
– RT (@RT_COM) June 21, 2025
Priya Grande Police Station official Tiago Louiz Lemos told reporters at the scene, ‘Pilot, who is one of the survivors, according to that, there was a fire inside the basket, so he started to lower the balloon, and when the balloon reached the ground, he asked people to jump. He started jumping, but some people could not do so. The flames started growing and the balloon started rising again. Later it fell down due to lack of suspension.
Brazilian President Lewis Eneasio Lula da Silva posted his solidarity with the victim’s families by posting on X. Priya Grande is located in South Santa Katrina and is a popular tourist destination. The city is known for its hot air balloon -related activities. According to a report by the News Agency Associated Press, hot air balloon is a popular activity in the southern parts of Brazil during the June festivals, celebrating Catholic saints like St. John.