Hot air balloon catches fire mid-air in Mexico, passengers jump off; 2 dead
The dead were listed as a male, 50, and a woman, 38
Mexico City: Two people have died when a hot-air balloon flying over the famed Teotihuacan archeological site near Mexico City caught fire, the regional government said on Saturday.
"The passengers jumped from the balloon," the government of the state of Mexico said in a statement, adding that a child suffered burns.
It identified the victims as a 39-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man, without providing their names. It said the minor had suffered second-degree burns to the face as well as a fracture of the right femur.
It did not say whether there were any other passengers on the balloon. The cause of the accident was under investigation.
A video posted on social media shows the balloon's gondola on fire, in a perfectly clear sky. According to a video of the incident posted on social media, the occupants of the balloon appeared to have fallen or jumped from the craft.
Several tour operators offer balloon flights over Teotihuacan, some 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Mexico City, for around $150.
With its Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, and its Avenue of the Dead, Teotihuacan is a popular tourist destination, a surviving monument to the pre-Columbian period.