2 killed; 11 injured in B.C. hot-air balloon crash

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Two people are confirmed dead after a hot-air balloon exploded into a ball of fire and crashed in a South Surrey, B.C., mobile home park Friday night, injuring 11 and destroying three homes.

Surrey Royal Canadian Mounted Police Const. Roger Morrow would not release the names of the two victims today out of respect for their family, who watched the tragedy "unfold before their eyes." However, witnesses at the Hazelmere RV Trailer Park and Campground, at 188th Street and 8th Avenue, said the pair are believed to be a mother and daughter, who were on board the balloon.

B.C. Ambulance Service said Friday that 11 others were sent to the hospital by ground and air ambulance. Four of those were taken to Royal Columbian Hospital — two of them to be treated for burns and the others for injuries after they jumped out of the balloon. One of these is a 69-year-old woman who is visiting from Germany.

One of the burns victims was transferred overnight to Vancouver General Hospital Burn Unit.

All four are in stable condition but the extent of their injuries is unknown, said Fraser Health Authority spokesman Savik Sidhu.

Meanwhile, residents at the park, which they describe as looking like a war zone, are still in shock. Witnesses say they were watching the balloons launch when they heard a series of popping sounds, and then the balloon caught fire, causing it to tip slightly before shooting 20 meters in the air. Then the flaming ball plummeted into the middle of the mobile home park.

Dean Mullin was watching TV when he heard his wife Arlene shouting from outside. As he looked out his back window, he saw the flaming balloon coming straight toward his home.

He slipped on his flip flops and ran out the front door, escaping just as the balloon hit the top of his mobile home, ultimately reducing it to a mass of black rubble and gutting the homes on either side. Windshields were blown out of two trucks parked outside, tires exploded and rearview mirrors and paneling melted on other vehicles.

"I was running too fast to look back. I wanted to find my wife and the grandkids," Mullin said. "I always tell my wife she's got a loud voice and to keep it down, but I won't tell her to shut up anymore."

Mullin's next-door neighbor was pulled out of a side window after flames engulfed his front door. Neighbors on the other side of Mullin were on an Alaskan cruise and expected to arrive home today.

"They know about it, but they're going to be shocked," said Pam Galbraith, who lives across the street.

Galbraith said she watched in horror as the balloon exploded, fearing for the people inside.

"It just went up like a rocket. We saw puffs of smoke and heard all the screaming and then it shot right up. Right away it was engulfed in flames," she said. "It was the worst thing I ever saw in my life; it was terrifying."

The balloon's fabric landed on her trailer and front lawn and she feared she was going to be hit.

"It looked like it was coming right at me ... just a ball of flame."

The acrid smell of smoke still hung in the air today as residents surveyed the damage. A mobile home was knocked on its side in the field where the balloon was launched, while scraps of tethering rope and bits of fabric littered the field.

"It was just like a war zone, everything was popping off," said Cliff Homfeld, who saw the tragedy with his wife Carol. "The basket was burning so everything was falling through. We thought maybe it was people falling but it was propane tanks."

Morrow would not say what caused the explosion, saying it was up to Transport Canada to investigate. About 15 firefighters from three Surrey halls were called to the fire.

"There's a fair amount of damage," Morrow said. "If there's any good news to this story, it's that no one was injured on the ground."

Joy Hemsworth lives across the street from the hot-air balloon launch pad and watched as three balloons launched.

"What unfolded next was unbelievable," Hemsworth said. "The propane bottle exploded and caught on fire. It rose up in the air about 20 meters. Then the rope burst and the basket dropped to the ground."

It took seconds for the rope to burn off and for the basket to drop with all those people inside, she said.

The trailer park residents were kept away for about three hours by emergency crews.

Galbraith, who was planning to take a balloon ride in September, said she's now hoping the balloon-ride business will be halted in the Hazelmere park.

"I'm still shaking," she said. "I hope they don't take off here anymore; it was so scary."