CHATSWORTH, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say one person was injured in a central Illinois hot air balloon accident.
The accident happened Thursday evening during the 150th anniversary celebration for the town of Chatsworth, about 100 miles southwest of Chicago. The Pantagraph in Bloomington reports four balloons were preparing to launch when the incident occurred. Livingston County Sheriff Tony Childress says a gust of wind “caused one balloon to lift up.” Childress says the balloon’s basket tipped and the pilot fell out.
The sheriff says the pilot was taken to the hospital with injuries that weren’t life threatening. Childress says no one else was injured.
Wayne Germain of Pontiac captured the accident on video. He tells WJBC radio that at one point the pilot dangled from the basket while the balloon was 50 to 60 feet high.
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