THIS is the dramatic moment a hot air balloon crash lands in a busy residential street.
The hot air balloon could be seen making an emergency landing at around 9.30am on Saturday morning on Bower Street in Bedford – with its rider desperately trying to avoid the nearby houses and cars.
SWNSA hot air balloon crash landed on Bower Street, Bedford on Saturday morning[/caption]
SWNSIt nearly caught the chimneys of the busy residential street[/caption]
SWNSA group of onlookers helped to pull the balloon away from the housing[/caption]
SWNSThey then had to race to pull it in the opposite direction to narrowly avoid the cars[/caption]
The Variohm Components-branded balloon was originally planning on landing in the nearby Russell Park.
A man on the street can be seen heaving on a rope to try and pull the descending balloon away from the row of houses.
The rider inside the balloon relights the fire multiple times, but it doesn’t stop the fall towards the roofs.
The pressure is on though, with cars lining the streets on both sides.
It gives them a very narrow gap to complete their landing, and not much time to do so.
Its basket appears to narrowly miss the tall chimneys atop the houses.
As it gets closer to the ground, more people start helping pull on the rope, moving the balloon away from the houses and into the centre of the road.
Once it is within reaching distance, the group of helpers rush towards the basket.
The person filming can be heard making nervous sounds, while those helping the balloon are shouting to one another in the distance.
They manage to intervene just in time, moving it away from an oncoming collision with a parked car, and safely into the middle of the road.
Another onlooker stands filming the debacle as it touches the ground.
As the basket reaches the ground, the balloon sways dramatically as it begins to deflate.
Those watching all cheer in elation.
Another angle shows the balloon descending beneath a rooftop, highlighting just how close it was to crashing.
Thankfully, the landing appears to be a total success, causing no damage to its travellers, or nearby cars and houses.
Sian Marie King caught the moment her partner Sam used a guide rope to bring the balloon to the ground.
She said: “I think the conditions were really still with not a lot of wind, so it lost momentum I think.
“The guys said my partner Sam saved their bacon. It was very, very close to a real disaster.”
The British Balloon and Airship Club confirmed the balloon “landed without incident”, adding that everyone was “OK”.
Emma Firman, who also filmed the landing, said it “was the most incredible scene” as she thought it was “going to hit the roof tops, then the cars and wires”.
SWNSThankfully, the balloon landed safely and caused no damage[/caption]
SWNSAnother angle shows the balloon descending below a house[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
