2 killed, 20 injured in Turkey hot-air balloon crash

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two Brazilian tourists have been killed and more than 20 other people injured after two hot-air balloons collided in Turkey, a local official says, accoridng to BBC News.

One ascending balloon was torn open as it hit the basket of another, and then plunged to Earth, witnesses said. The accident happened in Cappadocia, a region popular with tourists for its spectacular volcanic rock formations.

A tourist who was in another balloon said: "It was quite horrific. We looked up and it was falling out of the sky."

Joanne Rowley, an Australian on holiday in Turkey with her husband, added: "It fell straight down to the ground. It was just horrendous to see. You could see that people weren't going to survive. I still feel quite shaken from the experience."

Turkey's civil aviation agency says it has launched an inquiry.

Among the questions considered is likely to be whether too many balloons are taking to the skies in Cappadocia.

One tourist, E Wayne Ross, said the skies were crowded, and about 100 balloons had taken off early on Monday, May 20 morning.