12 Hospitalized After Hot Air Balloon Crash In Wyoming
Aug 3, 2020, 8:50 PM
A pair of hot-air balloons lie in a field just south of Teton Village — about six miles northwest of Jackson, Wyoming — after a crashing Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, during what authorities are speculating was a weather event. A third balloon was also forced down and it out of view in this image. No one was killed but more than a dozen were injured in the crashes. (AP Photo / Jackson Hole News & Guide, Bradly J. Boner)
(AP Photo / Jackson Hole News & Guide, Bradly J. Boner)
(CNN) — Twelve people were hospitalized in Wyoming on Monday after a hot air balloon crash, officials said.
Three hot air balloons carrying a total of 36 people crashed into the ground on Monday morning, according to Jackson Hole Fire Chief Brady Hansen.
Hansen said authorities received a call just after 8 a.m. local time that three sightseeing balloons had gone down near the foothills of the Teton Village Resort Community, which is located about 12 miles northwest of Jackson.
Of the 36 people on board the balloons, 11 were transported to local hospitals and one was transported to a level 1 trauma center in Idaho Falls, Hansen said.
It appears the pilots experienced an unexpected downdraft of winds that forced the balloons down, Hansen said, adding that the NTSB and FAA will further investigate.
CNN has reached out to the owner of the hot air balloons, Wyoming Balloon Company, for comment.
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