A woman has been taken to hospital after a hot air balloon caught fire while flying through the Yarra Valley, east of Melbourne.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is investigating, said the fire was caused by an in-flight burner on the Kavanagh B-350 balloon.
The balloon landed in a paddock near Cahillton Road, Gruyere, about 6:15am.
Police initially said up to a dozen people were on board, but the ATSB said it was carrying 16 people.
They included a 27-year-old woman who was taken to Maroondah Hospital with minor injuries.
She was reported to be in a stable condition.
None of the others on board were injured, Ambulance Victoria said.
Six crews from the Country Fire Authority attended the scene, where the charred remains of the balloon’s basket sat in a patch of burnt-out grass.
The passengers appeared shaken as they were taken back to their hotel later in the morning.
One passenger said she had to jump from the basket, and was relieved not to have been seriously injured.
A CFA firefighter told the ABC a passenger leapt out of the basket so another could pass a six-year-old child out to safety.
But a commercial ballooning industry spokesman, Damien Crock, said that was not the case.
“That is absolutely incorrect,” he said.
“I’ve spoken directly with the pilot, and all 15 passengers and the pilot were on board when it landed.
“It landed gently, it landed safely … they then had to evacuate, and were kept at a distance.”
