killing eight people, firefighters said. 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 8.00 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. Three people died hugging each other, said Ulisses Gabriel, chief of Santa Catarina’s civil police force, on X. “It hurts the soul.” “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,” Governor Jorginho Mello said in a video on X. (Jamaica Gleaner)