The 52nd Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta suffered an incident when a vessel hit a power line and caught on fire on Friday.
This hot air balloon event draws in hundreds of thousands of spectators. All that were present on Saturday got to see a radio tower collapse when hit by a balloon.
Two passengers were aboard the vessel, although thankfully no injuries were sustained and they're both safe. They're identities aren't known.
The fire was put out promptly, and no major damage from the fire was caused. Upon the powerline being snagged, 13,000 residents were left without power for an hour. It's the second time in the festivals 20 year history that this has happened.
Hot Air Balloon Strikes Radio Tower
A video shows a distant radio tower collapsing in on itself. Thankfully, such towers are designed to crumple inwards when struck to prevent collateral damage.
Upon folding inward, the structure falls on its side. No other injuries or harm was caused, although residents were left without power for a small while.
The video doesn't clearly show any hot air balloon making direct contact with the radio tower. It's also very difficult to discern which hot air balloon tripped the power line to cause the tower to collapse. No hot air balloons are seen ignited in the video.
After the incident, the hot air balloon was able to land safely. The radio station was off the air until Saturday, however.
Everything has been resolved rather quickly, thankfully, and everyone is safe.
"Safe flights are our primary goal, so any accident is too many," says Tom Garrity in a statement, the spokesman for the festival.
This isn't the only hot air balloon incident to hit the festival, however. On Wednesday, it is said that a vessel struck a large tree whilst trying to land at a golf course. This caused a passenger a head injury. Stuck in the tree, both passengers had to be rescued.
