Man, aged in his 20s, dies after hot air balloon crash in Ombersley, West Midlands

A man has been killed after an accident which saw a hot air balloon catch fire and crash into the ground in a field near Ombersley in Worcestershire. The tragic incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday (June 25) morning.

West Mercia Police confirmed that it had received calls of the aircraft coming down at 6.20am, as emergency services rushed to the scene. A man in his 20s was pronounced dead by paramedics and his family is being supported by specialist officers, no one else was injured.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) has opened an investigation into the crash, supported by The British Balloon and Airship Club who paid tribute to the victim in a statement which says: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved at this time.”

It comes around the time that the Worcester Balloon Festival was hosted in the region, which took place on Friday and Saturday located seven-miles away from the accident. Organisers responded: “There was an incident this morning, under investigation, it wasn’t the festival and it was independent. The festival finished last night, it was not connected to the festival.”

Pictures show the balloon hundreds of feet in the air moments before it plunged to earth. It crashed into trees off Holt Fleet Road, near Ombersley Court, Worcs., at around 6.20am.

This weekend saw hundreds enjoying the first ever Worcester Balloon Festival at the city’s racecourse. The event was cancelled last month due to bad weather and was rearranged to take place from Friday to Saturday evening.

It is unclear if the balloon which crashed had taken part in the festival. An event spokesperson said: “There was an incident this morning, under investigation, it wasn’t the festival it was independent. The festival finished last night, it was not connected to the festival.”

Firefighters, paramedics and police rushed to the scene but were unable to save the male pilot who was declared dead at the scene.

A West Mercia Police spokesperson said: “At 6.20am this morning police received a call a hot air balloon had deflated and fallen to the ground near the A449 at Ombersley. The balloon fell to the ground in a field off Holt Fleet Road, near Ombersley Court. Emergency services attended and unfortunately a man was pronounced dead by paramedics. The Air Accident Investigation Branch will now carry out an investigation.”

A spokesperson for Hereford and Worcestershire Fire Service: “We went out to an incident involving a hot air balloon in Ombersley on the Holt Fleet Road. We had a call at 6.23am, crews from Worcester, Droitwich, Wyre Forest, Evesham and Bromsgrove. We have left the scene now, but we have left it to the police. The tragedy has been reported to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) who tweeted they were “deploying a team to the site”