A tragic hot air balloon crash in Brazil has left at least eight people dead, according to officials.
Jorginho Mello, governor of the state of Santa Catarina, confirmed the incident in a statement shared on social media.
“Initial reports suggest there were 22 people aboard the balloon,” Mello wrote. “So far, eight fatalities have been confirmed, and two survivors have been rescued alive.”
Emergency teams are currently at the crash site in Praia Grande, a coastal city in the state of São Paulo, continuing search efforts for the remaining passengers.
Heartbreaking footage online shows the balloon airborne and up in flames. It completely deflates and the basket carrying the passengers, which is also alight, comes crashing down to the ground.
The heartbreaking incident comes just days after there was another hot air balloon incident in Turkey last week, leaving one dead and 19 others injured.
Mehmet Ali Kumbuzoglu, the provincial governor, confirmed that it was the pilot who died after he got ‘stuck under the basket’.
Elsewhere, Nermin Yildirim Kara, an MP from the province of Hatay, wrote on Twitter, per LBC: “We wish God’s blessings upon our peer who lost his life in the air balloon accident in the Ihlara Valley of Aksaray province, and a speedy recovery to those who have been injured.”
The balloon is said to have come into difficulty because of a sudden change in wind conditions.
