Third US balloon crash body found

The body of the third and final victim of a hot-air balloon crash in the US state of Virginia has been found in a heavily wooded area.

The body of the third and final victim of a hot-air balloon crash in the US state of Virginia has been found.

Witnesses watched in horror on Friday as the balloon caught fire in the evening sky after hitting a power line as it was coming down in a field near the state capital Richmond.

The burning balloon then surged back up, before plummeting again and smashing into the ground.

The balloon and gondola separated at some point, witnesses said, and the pilot had attempted to fight the fire while flying the balloon.

Two of the three people aboard were already confirmed dead and their bodies found.

"At about 11am Sunday, the remains of the third occupant were discovered. This discovery was approximately 100 (meters) north of where the second occupant was found Saturday," Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corrine Geller said in a statement on Sunday.

More than 100 personnel were involved in Sunday's search of a large swath of land that included a heavily wooded area.

The rest of the two-day Mid-Atlantic Balloon Festival was cancelled after the crash.


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Source: AAP



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