Four people were killed and one person was critically injured when a hot-air balloon crashed in the Arizona desert on Sunday morning, police said.
“The cause of the crash is currently unknown,” the Eloy Police Department said in a statement, adding that the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident, which occurred at approximately 7:50 a.m.
Authorities did not release victims’ names until families could be notified, police said, calling the crash “devastating.” But ABC15 said it had confirmed that 28-year-old nurse Katie Bartrom, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was among the dead.
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The station reported that there were 13 people in the balloon: a pilot, eight skydivers, and four passengers, all from out of town. The skydivers jumped before the accident.
Eloy Mayor Micah Powell told reporters that a witness on the ground said the Cameron A160 balloon appeared to be deflated as it plunged toward the ground.
“The city of Eloy is a close-knit community with a very large skydive community presence” Powell said. “We have the world’s largest drop zone.
“I have a skydiver on my city council. This is close to home for us,” he added. “We’re terribly sad.”
According to the New York Times, the city’s police chief, Byron Gwaltney, said it appeared some sort of catastrophic failure took place after the skydivers exited the gondola.
Gwaltney added it was likely that cellphone footage taken during the ride could provide clues to investigators about what exactly caused the accident.
