Eight killed after hot-air balloon catches fire and falls in Brazil

A hot-air balloon caught fire and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil 's southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people, firefighters said.

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Footage shared by local news outlet GI showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames as it hurtled toward the ground in the municipality of Praia Grande.

On a video on social media, two people can be seen falling through the air as the fire spread onboard the aircraft. Three people died hugging each other, said Ulisses Gabriel, chief of Santa Catarina’s civil police force, on X. “It hurts the soul.”