11 injured in hot air balloon crash in New Zealand

Wellington, July 9 (IANS) Eleven people were injured due to a hot air balloon crash near Queenstown, South Island of New Zealand on Friday, reported the local media.A police spokesperson at the scene confirmed that at least one person was seriously injured, with the 10 others suffering minor or moderate injuries, the Xinhua news agency reported.Visual contents from the scene showed a large semi-deflated balloon seen through tree branches.It is said that there were numerous power lines visible at the site. At the request of the emergency services, the power company turned off the power, leaving at least 160 houses in nearby suburbs without electricity.Hot balloon flight is one of the popular touring attractions in New Zealand, but tragedy did happen before. A balloon crash accident in 2012 took 11 lives. There is no evidence this crash was caused by misconduct, but a witness reported a plummet landing being seen this time.
--IANS int/rs