A hot air balloon caught fire and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil ‘s southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people, officials said, adding that three of the victims were found holding each other.
Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon, which was in flames as it hurtled toward the ground in the municipality of Praia Grande.
On a video on social media, two people can be seen falling through the air as the fire spread onboard the aircraft.
Thirteen people survived and were taken to hospitals, Santa Catarina’s military fire brigade said, adding that 21 people were on board including the pilot.
The crash happened at around 8 a.m. local time, said Lt. Col. Zevir Cipriano Jr., a military firefighter. A fire started in the basket, prompting the pilot to try to land the balloon.
Thirteen people, including the pilot, managed to jump out but eight were unable to. Without the weight of the others, the balloon began rising again.
“These people ended up dying – four charred and another four jumped out of the balloon when it was falling,” Cipriano Jr. said.
Ulisses Gabriel, chief of Santa Catarina’s civil police force, said on social media that three people died hugging each other. “It hurts the soul,” he wrote.
CBMSC/ Brazil / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images 
“We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened. But the important thing now is for the state structure to do what it can,” Gov. Jorginho Mello said in a video on X.
Mello said he has asked authorities to head to the municipality “to do as much as possible to rescue, to help, to take to hospital, to comfort the families.”
Officials at Our Lady of Fatima hospital said of the five survivors treated there, three were in stable condition with minor injuries and two had already been discharged, Agence France-Presse reported. Information about the other survivors was not immediately available.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his solidarity with victims’ families and said he was placing the federal government at the disposal of victims and local authorities.
G1 reported that the balloon’s expected flight time was 45 minutes, with the balloon reaching 3,280 feet, and cost around $100 per passenger.
Sobrevoar, the company responsible for the multicolored balloon, said it complied with all regulations and had a clean accident record prior to Saturday.
“Despite all necessary precautions and the efforts of our pilot – who has extensive experience and followed all recommended procedures in an attempt to save everyone on board the balloon – we are suffering from the pain caused by this tragedy,” it said in a statement.
Sobrevoar added that it was suspending all operations for an indefinite period.
CBMSC/ Brazil / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images 
Praia Grande is a common destination for hot air ballooning, a popular activity in parts of southern Brazil. The area is famous for its dramatic canyon landscapes and is known as the “Brazilian Cappadocia,” a reference to a region in central Turkey famed worldwide for stunning hot-air balloon rides.
Last Sunday, a balloon came down in Sao Paulo state, killing a 27-year-old woman and injuring 11 other people, G1 reported.
There have been several fatal hot air balloon crashes elsewhere in recent years.
Last year, four people were killed when a hot air balloon crashed in Arizona. Also in 2024, a man fell to his death from a hot air balloon as it passed over Melbourne, Australia.
In 2023, two people died and a girl was injured after the hot air balloon they were riding in caught fire near Mexico City.
In 2021, five people died after a hot air balloon crashed into power lines in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
