Posted on 01/06/2012 2:44:03 PM PST by Berlin_Freeper
ELEVEN people have died when a hot air balloon was engulfed in flames in New Zealand.
The balloon came down in flames at Clareville, near the Wairarapa township of Carterton, about 7.30am local time (5.30am AEDT) today.
Local resident David McKinlay said he was watering the garden of his home on the northern boundary of Carterton at 7.40am (5.40am AEDT) when he looked up toward the northeast.
"I just couldn't believe what I was seeing," he said..
"There were flames licking up the basket on one side, up towards the guy ropes of the balloon itself and probably just about reaching the fabric of the balloon," he told AAP.
The balloon came down at speed in a paddock on Somerset Road.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
Balloons used to take off from a pasture where I kept horses near Houston. One day a girl was taking her grandfather up as a gift for his 85th birthday. An unexpected gust of wind pushed them into a high voltage power line about 50 feet off the ground. All died.
Going back twenty plus years my wife and I had the opportunity to ride in a hot air balloon during the Hot Air Balloon Festival held each fall in Albuquerque, NM. Wonderful experience ... rising up in the early dawn with numerous other balloons ... close to one hundred ... of all shapes, sizes and colors. Truly an experience of a lifetime.
My friend...You want to live forever?
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