Fiery hot air balloon crash kills passengers in Texas

A hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people crashed in Central Texas on Saturday, causing a significant loss of life, according to authorities. The crash happened at about 7:40 a.m. in a pasture near Lockhart, Texas. Margaret Wylie, a nearby resident, said she saw a large fireball and called 911. The National Transportation Safety Board did not provide an exact number of how many people died or who they were. Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel C. Law said people could walk up and buy tickets for the hot air balloon ride just beforehand, so there was no list of passengers like there would be for an airplane. Two years ago, safety investigators told the Federal Aviation Administration it needed more oversight of hot air balloon operators because of the potential for high-fatality accidents, according to government documents. The FAA rejected those recommendations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.