'Number of fatalities' in Texas balloon crash; toll unclear

LOCKHART, Texas (AP) — A hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught on fire and crashed in Central Texas today, causing what authorities described as a "significant loss of life."

Erik Grosof with the National Transportation Safety Board would not provide an exact number of how many people died. The crash happened at about 7:40 a.m. in a pasture near Lockhart, and Lynn Lunsford with the Federal Aviation Administration said earlier that the balloon was carrying at least 16 people.

Authorities have not said where the hot air balloon was based out of or which company was flying it, though Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel C. Law told The Associated Press that it's the kind of situation where people can walk up and buy a ticket, unlike an airplane, which would have a list of names.

The land near the crash site is mostly farmland, with corn crops and grazing cattle. Cutting through that farmland is a row of massive high-capacity transmission lines about 4 to 5 stories tall. The site of the crash appears to be right below the overhead lines, though authorities haven't provided further details about what happened.

Margaret Wylie lives about a quarter-mile from the crash site and told The Associated Press that she was letting her dog out this morning when she heard a "pop, pop, pop."