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Policeman next to the crashed hot air balloon
Photo: Cevin Dettlaff / dpa
A fatal accident occurred in Beelitz, Brandenburg, before a hot-air balloon was launched.
The police said the hot air balloon got out of control on the balloon landing pad before it even took off.
The aircraft was therefore attached to a car with a trailer and was probably carried away by a gust of wind across the square.
The 69-year-old was hit and fatally injured by the car and trailer being thrown around.
The 59-year-old hot air balloon driver was in the balloon's basket during Monday night's accident.
The waiting passengers suffered a shock and were cared for by emergency chaplains.
The hot air balloon had been prepared for the ride and should have started promptly.
According to a police spokesman, about a dozen people were gathered at the hot air balloon.
The police have launched an investigation into negligent homicide against those responsible.
Attachment to the vehicle is apparently the usual procedure
According to an expert quoted by the dpa news agency, it is common practice to tie the balloon to the towing vehicle while it is being inflated before it takes off.
"It is important to attach it to the front of the vehicle and not to the lighter trailer on which the balloon is driven to the starting point," said aviation expert Robert Meyknecht, who is also the managing director of the balloon manufacturer "geo - Die Luftwerker".
It is important that the waiting passengers do not stand too close to the basket, which could be caught by gusts of wind and thrown around.
Attachment to a stationary vehicle is a very safe and standard procedure, said Meyknecht.
The affected balloon ride provider was not available on Tuesday.
The only thing that was announced by telephone was that the agreed balloon rides had been canceled “due to internal events”.
fek/dpa
