Surrey, British Columbia
A commercial hot-air balloon carrying 12 passengers near Vancouver burst into flames this week, leaving two dead and 11 injured. The balloon caught fire just before takeoff, and the pilot and most of the passengers were able to abandon the craft. But four passengers remained on board as the balloon lifted off. Two jumped about 50 feet to the ground, sustaining broken bones and internal injuries. But two others, Shannon Knackstedt and her adult daughter, Gemma, were burned to death as several family members, who had been on the balloon with them, watched in horror. Other passengers were injured as they leapt off the balloon while it was still moored. It rose about 400 feet before crashing into a nearby trailer park.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Crisis in Cuba: a ‘golden opportunity’ for Washington?Talking Point The Trump administration is applying the pressure, and with Latin America swinging to the right, Havana is becoming more ‘politically isolated’
-
5 thoroughly redacted cartoons about Pam Bondi protecting predatorsCartoons Artists take on the real victim, types of protection, and more
-
Palestine Action and the trouble with defining terrorismIn the Spotlight The issues with proscribing the group ‘became apparent as soon as the police began putting it into practice’
