Search continues for 3rd body in US balloon crash

A second body was recovered Saturday from the crash of a hot air balloon carrying three people that drifted into a power line and burst into flames in front of horrified spectators. The bodies were discovered just under a mile (1.6 kilometres) apart.

More than 100 searchers were called in to scour the woods and fields of the Virginia site of the crash for the third victim and any remnants of the balloon or its basket, state police said.

University of Richmond administrators said in a news release Saturday that associate head coach Ginny Doyle and director of basketball operations Natalie Lewis were two of the three people aboard the balloon.

Witnesses said they heard the anguished pleas of the passengers Friday night as the balloon touched the power line and erupted into flames.

On the ground, “It was complete silence,” eyewitness Nancy Johnson said. “There were people praying. It was horrible.”

The balloon crashed Friday night ahead of a balloon festival. It was among 13 balloons that took off from Meadow Event Park, home to the State Fair of Virginia, and was approaching a landing site nearby. Two of the balloons landed safely before the third hit the live power line.