Hot air balloon carrying 34 people crashes in Netherlands, leaving one dead

One person has died in a hot air balloon accident in Friesland, the Netherlands.

This was reported by NOS.

The accident occurred during the balloon’s landing. Five people were taken to hospital with injuries. In total, there were 34 people on board the hot air balloon.

The hot air balloon accident occurred in a meadow near the village of De Hoeve.

A representative of the Royal Dutch Aviation Association said the balloon made a hard landing due to a gust of wind. This caused the basket to bounce, and five people fell out. One person was killed.

The KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) hot air balloon weather forecast had warned of wind gusts. These were between 10 and 14 knots, which are not normally a problem for such a large balloon, according to the Royal Dutch Aviation Association representative. Despite the forecast, gusts of up to 17 knots were recorded during the landing.

Among other emergency measures, two trauma helicopters were dispatched, and the situation was raised to GRIP 1 level, meaning various emergency services were working together at the scene.

According to Omroep Fryslân, the hot air balloon took off from the town of Joure and is one of the largest in the Netherlands.