Three tourists die in hot-air balloon collision

The death toll for the hot air balloon collision in Turkey now stands at three

09:02 22 May 2013

Officials have confirmed that the number of tourists to have died because of a hot-air balloon collision in Turkey has reached three. The casualties were all Brazilians who are 65, 71, and 76 years old. In addition, there are more than 20 other people injured, with many of them having broken bones.

Witnesses said that one hot air balloon was torn open as it ascended, hitting the basket of another before it plunged to the ground.

One witness described the accident as “horrific” while another said that they didn’t think people would survive from the fall.

The accident occurred in Cappadocia.

Turkey's civil aviation agency has confirmed that an investigation is underway. One of the things they would want to investigate is if the sky was too crowded that day, as reported by other tourists.

This isn’t the first time that a hot-air balloon accident has happened in Turkey. In 2009, a similar balloon collision that occurred in the same place killed a British tourist and injured nine people.