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소아쌤

1 killed, 12 injured in hot air balloon crash on Jeju Island

By Yonhap

Published : April 12, 2018 - 09:25

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JEJU ISLAND -- The pilot of a hot air balloon was killed and 12 tourists were slightly injured Thursday after their aircraft crashed into a hill on the southern resort island of Jeju, firefighters said.

Kim Jong-guk, 45, sustained a serious head injury as the balloon hit a tree in its attempt to land on the ground north of the Mulyeongari-oreum volcanic cone in the city of Seogwipo at around 8:11 a.m.

A witness, who was collecting edible wild plants at the time of the crash, reported it to a local fire station.

The pilot was rushed to a hospital in a state of cardiac arrest but was later pronounced dead, while the 12 passengers were transferred to hospitals, firefighters said.


(Yonhap) (Yonhap)

The hot air balloon, from Oreum Hot Air Tour Co., that carried the 13 people was flying toward a ranch in the city after picking up the tourists at a playing ground in the nearby city of Jeju around 7:40 a.m.

According to witnesses and police, the British-made balloon, which is 35 meters tall and 30 meters wide, grazed the tip of a tree before crashing into the ground with a thump and carried away by strong winds about 100 meters and hitting a tree again. During the accident, the passengers escaped or were thrown out and the pilot held on to the control stick.

The firefighters and police are looking into the exact cause of the accident.

It marked the second hot air balloon accident on the island since April 1999, when one person died and four others were injured after hot air balloons crashed due to strong winds. (Yonhap)

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