Ombersley fatal air balloon reports 'sensationalised'

Emergency services were called to Holt Fleet Road in Ombersley, about seven miles north of Worcester

Reports a hot air balloon came down in a "fire ball" are unlikely, according to an expert.

A man in his 20s died after the balloon fell to the ground on Holt Fleet Road in Ombersley, Worcestershire at 06:20 BST on Sunday.

Paul Burrows from the British Balloon and Airship club said rumours it burst into flames were "pure speculation".

The club is supporting the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB), which is investigating what happened.

Mr Burrows said the man's death was "a real tragedy".

"There's not a great deal that can go wrong with these aircraft, they are the most basic form of flight, but obviously something has gone tragically wrong," he said.

"We all need to know what's happened, we all need to know the causes so we can make sure it doesn't happen in the future."

'Sensationalised'

One witness, Lyn Woo, said she had seen "two single balloons going across the sky in the distance and one suddenly started to fold up".

"I didn't see any flames coming from the burners and then it suddenly disappeared from view."

She said she did not see a fire ball as has been reported in several online news reports.

Mr Burrows said "it probably didn't explode as has been sensationalised" and that what may have happened was there had been "another problem with the balloon and the burners have been used to try and sort that out and arrest the descent and that is what people have seen".

"But again it is pure speculation," he added.

A hot air balloon festival had been taking place seven miles (11km) away from the scene, in Worcester, on Friday and Saturday.

Mr Burrows said it was not linked to the event.

"The event finished on Saturday evening, anything that happened on Sunday morning was nothing to do with the event directly, they weren't flying as part of an ascent from the event," he said.