This is the terrifying moment a hot air balloon with a dozen tourists on board crashed in Dubai.
Footage shows a Russian tourist and her mother on the balloon ride over the desert, which set off at dawn before suddenly ’tilting too much to the side and fell sharply’ about 40 minutes into the flight, according to accounts from the two women.
The basket hit the ground then was dragged along hitting the ground several times.
‘After the impact at high speed, the basket itself rolled and hit the surface several more times,’ reported Readovka news outlet. Some tourists ‘were hit hard during landing and were covered by the canopy’, it said.
Several passengers were reportedly injured and taken to hospital, with some allegedly being ‘unconscious’ after the crash.
The younger Russian woman is later seen in a hospital bed with a neck brace on. It is not clear what injuries she sustained.
There is no independent confirmation of the details of the crash, which reportedly occurred on March 23 although footage has only now emerged on Russian Telegram channels. It is not clear what caused the problem.
The company offering the hot air balloon flights said no accident occured, labelling the incident simply a ‘hard landing, which is part of the event’, RIA Novosti reports.
Footage shows a Russian woman and her mother on the balloon ride over the desert, which set off at dawn before suddenly ’tilting too much to the side and fell sharply’ about 40 minutes into the flight, according to accounts from the two women
The younger Russian woman filmed herself and the desert underneath her during the hot air balloon flight
The younger Russian woman is later seen in a hospital bed with a neck brace on. It is not clear what injuries she sustained
Their representative acknowledged that passengers suffered minor injuries, adding that they have already been discharged from hospital.
This comes after two Britons watched on in horror as a giant hot air balloon packed with tourists slammed into Turkey’s famed ‘Fairy Chimney’ rock formations after a freak gust of wind in June last year.
Rebecca Horsfall, 31, filmed the shocking moment the basket holding 20 tourists and two pilots crashed into the rocks of the Love Valley site in Cappadocia, Turkey, around 6am.
‘Suddenly people were screaming and running to the edge of the valley,’ Ms Horsfall, who went to a scenic lock out spot with her partner Kieran McDonnell, 30, to take pictures for social media at sunrise, told MailOnline.
Ms Horsfall, from Burnley, added: ‘It was incredibly scary to see the hot air balloon basket slip down the mountain side.’
A gust of wind blew the giant air balloon against the rocks as pilot Caner Uzun was trying to land opposite the Love Valley, according to local media.
Footage shows the balloon deflating as emergency services rush to the scene to examine the passengers.
Ms Horsfall said that their drone captured footage of one of the tourists onboard, who ‘was being fanned’ after she appeared to have fainted.
There is no independent confirmation of the details of the crash, which reportedly occurred on March 23 although footage (like above of the Russian mother and daughter) has only now emerged on Russian Telegram channels
Two Britons watched on in horror as a giant hot air balloon packed with tourists slams into Turkey’s famed ‘Fairy Chimney’ rock formations after a freak gust of wind
Rebecca Horsfall, 31, filmed the shocking moment the basket holding 20 tourists and two pilots crashed into the rocks of the Love Valley site in Cappadocia, Turkey, around 6am in June 2024
None of the tourists or pilots were injured in the rock landing.
‘I actually went on a balloon flight in this area two years ago, and found the whole operation very safe. I am sure this was more of a freak accident, Mrs Horsfall, who is a self-employed event planner, told MailOnline.
‘It appears as though the balloon had got caught on the side of a rock. The valleys can be narrow and the pilots like to fly the balloons low for the best experience for the passengers.’
One of the passengers on the balloon told local media that the pilot ‘constantly gave us confidence and comfort’, despite the rough landing.
Ms Horsfall, who was travelling in a camper van with her partner and three dogs in Turkey at the time, said in her video: ‘Well guys, we’re just leaving Love Valley now and this is not what we expected to see.
‘We’ve been in Cappadocia for a week watching the balloons rise every morning.
‘Thankfully the emergency services got there quickly, looked like everyone has got out safely. I don’t think there’s been any major injuries. Just really shocking to see.’
The local government said in a statement at the time of the accident: ‘The hot air balloon in question, which took off from the Paşabağları location at around 05.15am, made an emergency and safe hard landing during its landing within the borders of Goereme Town.
‘After the emergency landing, the 20 passengers and 2 pilots in the balloon were safely evacuated by our AFAD teams, no injuries occurred, and no adverse events were detected in the health examination of the pilot and passengers in the balloon.’
