Hot air balloon crashes into light pole

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - After trying to land in a nearby vacant lot, a hot air balloon crashed into a light post at Barelas Railroad Park in southwest Albuquerque Sunday morning.

The balloon hit a pole above a softball field. There was a game going on at the time of the accident. No injuries have been reported.

Witnesses said they saw the pilot try and land in the vacant lot, but it appeared he was going too fast to land. That’s when he tried to gain altitude again but ended up crashing into the pole.

“A bunch of us gathered together and tried to hold the balloon down because it was catching a lot of air and wanted to tip over the pole," Matt Armenta said.  "A bunch of my teammates and I just tried to hold it down and help the people."

Armenta was playing in the outfield at the time of the accident.

Fire crews were finally able to get the four passengers down about 20 minutes after the balloon struck the pole. It took about three hours to finally get the basket down.

Lt. Paul Chavez of the Albuquerque Fire Department said during the rescue the gondola stayed in place despite sustained gusts of 20 mph. The passengers were checked out by paramedics at the scene but released without any major injuries.