Two people have died and a girl has been injured after the hot air balloon they were riding in caught fire near Mexico City.
Key points:
- A 50-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman have died and a girl has been injured after a hot air balloon caught fire in Mexico
- The cause of the accident is under investigation
- The accident took place near Teotihuacan, a popular location for balloon rides
Officials in the state of Mexico, which borders the capital, said the girl suffered burns and a broken arm.
“The passengers jumped from the balloon,” the government of the state of Mexico said in a statement.
A video of the incident posted on social media, which has not been verified, shows flames engulfing the wooden basket below the balloon.
The dead were listed as a male, 50, and a woman, 38. Authorities did not say whether there were any other passengers on the balloon.
The cause of the accident was under investigation.
The accident occurred near the pre-Hispanic ruin site of Teotihuacan, just north of Mexico City, a popular location for balloon rides.
Best known for its twin Temples of the Sun and Moon, Teotihuacan was once a large city that housed over 100,000 inhabitants and covered around 20 square kilometres.
The still-mysterious city was one of the largest in the world at its apex between 100 BC and AD 750.
It was abandoned before the rise of the Aztecs in the 14th century.
AP/AFP