DOSWELL — Three people were missing Friday night as search crews combed a rural area of Caroline County for the wreckage of a hot air balloon that caught fire after reportedly striking a power line.
Authorities said the balloon was carrying three people — a pilot and two passengers — when it took off Friday evening from The Meadow Event Park, the site of this weekend’s inaugural Mid-Atlantic Balloon Festival.
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the balloon was one of three that were going to land in a designated area. Two of the balloons landed safely, but as the third balloon was making its approach, it apparently struck a power line and caught fire.
Witnesses heard two explosions from the balloon, Geller said, and the gondola that carries the pilot and passengers separated from the balloon after it struck the power line.
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Carrie Hager-Bradley said she saw the balloon in flames on her way home from the grocery store and heard people yelling.
"They were just screaming for anybody to help them," she said. "'Help me, help me, sweet Jesus, help. I'm going to die. Oh my God, I'm going to die,'" Hager-Bradley said she heard one person screaming.
Debra Ferguson said that some hot air balloons landed safely in her yard, but that one of the men in the balloons pointed up at another still in the air and said he thought it might be in trouble.
"As soon as we looked up, the thing blew up right there," Ferguson said. "All I heard was, 'Oh my God, Oh my God,' and all you saw was the top of the balloon still flying, but all of the basket was gone. All of the flames just disappeared. ... It was like a match - poof - and then it was gone."
Caroline County resident Paula Dustin said she and her family and a friend were watching the balloons inflate and take off when they saw one in the distance that appeared to be in distress.
"We saw a glow, and you could tell the bottom of the balloon was in flames," Dustin said.
Geller said authorities believe they know the identities of those on the balloon, but she did not release their names. She also said authorities have been in touch with family members of those believed to have been in the balloon.
Geller said authorities were searching for two crash sites, one for the balloon and one for the gondola. They were focusing the search northeast of The Meadow Event Park near the Caroline Pines subdivision.
Hot air balloons typically carry propane tanks for the burners that create the hot air.
The Caroline Sheriff’s Office notified state police at 7:56 p.m. of a possible balloon crash.
Geller said later that searchers were fanning out around the area and that Henrico County police had a search plane in the air. State police also were planning to search by helicopter using infrared technology. Two Federal Aviation Administration inspectors were on the scene, and the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified, Geller said.
Geller said authorities had not confirmed any injuries or fatalities.
The organizers of the balloon festival canceled the event, which was to have continued today and Sunday. About 20 licensed hot air balloon pilots from Florida to New Jersey were to offer balloon rides over the weekend.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
