Eleven people were killed early this morning in Carterton when a hot air balloon caught fire. There were ten passengers and a pilot in the balloon basket. As the balloon came in to land just before 7.30am, it hit a power line and burst into flames. The balloon descended very fast. Two people jumped from the basket before it landed but they did not survive.
The pilot had more than 1000 hours experience of piloting a hot air balloon. The weather was calm and clear. It is hard to understand how this accident happened.
Carterton is a popular place for hot air ballooning because it has views of mountains, rivers and farm land. Carterton is just over an hour from Wellington by car. The passengers were five couples, all from the Wellington area.
Collocations
Collocations are words which go together. It is a good idea to learn them. These are collocations: caught fire, came in to land, burst into flames, it is hard to understand …, just over an hour