Officials release statement as eight people die in fatal hot air balloon crash in Brazil

Officials have released an official statement following a hot air balloon crash that ended in eight people losing their lives. The incident took place in Brazil over the weekend, and a number of shocking videos have been shared online.

Horrifying videos share the moment the balloon caught alight in the air and began to deflate. The tragedy happened at around 8am local time, on Saturday morning. 21 people were on board, and had been on the trip above the city of Praia Grande. Since then, local authorities have given an update about what happened.

It’s been confirmed eight people lost their lives, and 13 survived. One of the survivors was the balloon’s pilot. The pilot is reported to have encouraged people to jump from the balloon, as it got closer to the ground. The survivors were taken to nearby hospitals.

CW: The below video shows graphic images of what happened.

BREAKING: Hot air balloon carrying 21 people crashes in southern Brazil pic.twitter.com/02fvbjSAoN

— BNO News (@BNONews) June 21, 2025

Praia Grande head police officer Tiago Luiz Lemos told local media a fire started within the balloon’s basket, and the pilot tried to lower it to the ground. In videos, at least two passengers can be seen leaping from the balloon in mid-air.

Among the eight dead were four who couldn’t manage to jump out. When the weight of the balloon went down as people did jump, they got caught in the basket as it started rising again. The other four did jump, but died afterwards.

Zevir Cipriano, a military firefighter, said: “These people ended up dying – four charred and another four jumped out of the balloon when it was falling.” It was reported three of those who died inside the balloon died “whilst hugging each other”.

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via Santa Catarina Fire Department HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Jorginho Mello, Governor of the Santa Catarina state, said in a statement on Twitter: “We are all shocked by the accident. Our teams continue to provide all necessary support to families and victims. We continue to monitor the situation.

“We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened. But the important thing now is for the state structure to do what it can.”

Investigations into how the fire started are ongoing.

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