Hot air balloon with 10 on board crashes in Nevada; several injured

A hot air balloon with 10 people on board made a hard landing and caught fire in southern Nevada, leaving one person with a severe head injury and several others with burns, according to officials and local media.

The crash happened at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday in the Stewart Valley dry lake bed near Pahrump, close to the California state line, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office told KTNV.

The sheriff’s office said it received a text to 911 reporting the crash because the caller had no cell phone signal. The individual reported that one person had suffered a severe head injury and that several others had second- and third-degree burns, as well as other blunt force injuries.

The caller was taking victims to Desert View Hospital in a private vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.

Pahrump Fire & Rescue told KSNV that crews were dispatched to the Stewart Valley area after being told a hot air balloon had suffered a hard landing and caught fire.

Deputies responded to both the crash site and the hospital. When they arrived at the scene, only ground crew for the balloon company remained because all passengers had already been taken to the hospital, the sheriff’s office told KTNV.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it will investigate.