3 People Survive After Minnesota Hot Air Balloon Hits Power Line, Basket Disconnects and Falls '20-30 Feet'

Mar. 15, 2025

Three people miraculously survived after the hot air balloon they were riding crashed into a power line in Minnesota on Wednesday.

“Preliminary information indicates the balloon was trying to land in a field when a gust of wind pushed it into a power line,” the Rochester Police Departmentsaid in a news release on Facebook. “The basket became disconnected from the balloon and fell approximately 20-30 feet to the ground.”

Police responded to the crash around 6:50 p.m. local time along Highway 63 between the exits for 40th Street Southeast and 48th Street Southeast.

Three people were inside the basket, and two reported having very minor injuries, police added. They have not been identified at this time, butUSA Todayreported they were the balloon’s pilot and its two passengers, per the FAA’s preliminary report.

A small brush fire broke out next to the basket, and the Rochester Fire Department “quickly extinguished it,” according to police.

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The fire department said onFacebookthat the balloon could be seen drifting to the southeast without the basket as fire crews approached from more than a mile away.

The basket from the hot air balloon at the crash site in Minnestoa on Wednesday.Rochester Fire Department

Rochester Fire Department

Rochester Fire Capt. Chad Kuhlman told CBS affiliate KIMT that it was astonishing that no one was seriously injured.

“[There] was some sparking going with them hanging in the power lines in the basket,” Kuhlman said. “Eventually, the wire gave way and the basket and they took a drop from that wire to the ground.”

source: people.com