The Texas Department of Public Safety has confirmed the deaths of 16 people after a hot air balloon caught fire and crashed in a field near the central Texas city of Lockhart today.
Emergency responders in Texas said the fire hit the basket portion of the hot air balloon.
Eye witnesses said the hot air balloon struck power transmission lines and burst into flames before plunging into a field.
The accident is one of the deadliest hot air balloon crashes on record. It comes about three years after 19 people, mostly Asian and European tourists, were killed in a hot air balloon crash in Luxor, Egypt.
The Caldwell County sheriff's office said it was working to determine the identities of those on board the balloon.
"Right now, we have a number of fatalities," a National Transportation Safety Board spokesman said from the scene, adding that a Federal Bureau of Investigation team was being dispatched to help in evidence-gathering.
The NTSB offered no details on what may have caused the accident, which occurred on a clear day. It said it believed the balloon belonged to a tour group that offers hot air balloon rides.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the Lockhart crash, about 50 km south of Austin.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott offered his condolences to those killed in the crash.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, as well as the Lockhart community," he said in a statement.
Local resident Margaret Wylie, 66, told reporters the balloon ignited into a fireball.
"First I heard a whooshing sound and then a big ball of fire (flared) up," she told broadcasters.
