PINAL COUNTY, AZ — Four people are dead and a fifth is critically hurt after a hot air balloon crash Sunday morning in Pinal County.
Eloy police say it happened around 7:30 a.m. in a rural desert area about five miles north of the town.
The mayor of Eloy said that 13 people — eight skydivers, four passengers, and a pilot — had been in the balloon. Before the crash, the skydivers exited the gondola. Witnesses told officials that the balloon was straight up and down before a hard impact.
One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other three died at a hospital. One person is in critical condition at a Valley hospital.
The victims’ identities have not yet been released.
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