Freaky Fiasco at Albuquerque’s Annual Balloon Fiesta
The 2019 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta started over the weekend, and with it, a little fiasco that led to people being thrown out of a balloon and a fire.
The Fiesta is a nine-day event. I didn't know that; I thought it was only for a weekend. Nonetheless, the event brings over 500 balloons to New Mexico and just started on October 5, with one story from the festivities making the news.
According to ABC News, on Monday, October 7, one of the balloons made such a hard landing that the pilot and its two occupants were thrown from the gondola. The gondola then took off and hit a power line.
Hitting the power line brought double-trouble: the balloon caught fire and the power in the neighborhood went out. Super.
The burning balloon/gondola did land and they got the fire out. The people that were in the gondola were treated at a local hospital and later released. Folks in the area were without power for about an hour.
This just serves as a reminder that with the beauty that hot air balloons bring, there is always a chance of something going wrong.
Get more on the incident from ABC News HERE.