WASHINGTON: Up to 16 people are feared dead after a large hot-air balloon caught fire and crashed in central Texas on Saturday, officials said.

The accident occurred shortly after 7:40am, when the balloon crashed into a field near Lockhart, around 50 miles south of Austin, Lynn Lunsford of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.

“It does not appear at this time that there were any survivors of the crash,” the Caldwell County sheriff’s office said, which received an emergency call about a possible accident.

“When the Emergency Responders and the Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene, it was apparent that the reported fire was the basket portion of a hot-air balloon,” it added in a statement posted on Twitter.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott offered condolences to those affected by the crash.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, as well as the Lockhart community,” he said in a statement.

A photo posted on social media apparently depicting the accident showed a balloon in the air with huge flames spurting underneath.

FAA investigators are on their way to the site, Lunsford said, with the National Transportation Safety Board taking charge of the probe.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2016