Two Britons watched on in horror as a giant hot air balloon packed with tourists slams into Turkey’s famed ‘Fairy Chimney’ rock formations after a freak gust of wind.
Rebecca Horsfall, 31, filmed the shocking moment the basket holding 20 tourists and two pilots crashed into the rocks of the Love Valley site in Cappadocia, Turkey, around 6am on Saturday.
‘Suddenly people were screaming and running to the edge of the valley,’ Ms Horsfall, who went to a scenic lock out spot with her partner Kieran McDonnell, 30, to take pictures for social media at sunrise, told MailOnline.
Ms Horsfall, from Burnley, added: ‘It was incredibly scary to see the hot air balloon basket slip down the mountain side.’
A gust of wind blew the giant air balloon against the rocks as pilot Caner Uzun was trying to land opposite the Love Valley, according to local media.
Two Britons watched on in horror as a giant hot air balloon packed with tourists slams into Turkey’s famed ‘Fairy Chimney’ rock formations after a freak gust of wind
Rebecca Horsfall, 31, filmed the shocking moment the basket holding 20 tourists and two pilots crashed into the rocks of the Love Valley site in Cappadocia, Turkey, around 6am on Saturday
A gust of wind blew the giant air balloon against the rocks as pilot Caner Uzun was trying to land opposite the Love Valley, according to local media
Footage shows the balloon deflating as emergency services rush to the scene to examine the passengers.
Ms Horsfall said that their drone captured footage of one of the tourists onboard, who ‘was being fanned’ after she appeared to have fainted.
None of the tourists or pilots were injured in the rock landing.
‘I actually went on a balloon flight in this area two years ago, and found the whole operation very safe. I am sure this was more of a freak accident, Mrs Horsfall, who is a self-employed event planner, told MailOnline.
‘It appears as though the balloon had got caught on the side of a rock. The valleys can be narrow and the pilots like to fly the balloons low for the best experience for the passengers.’
One of the passengers on the balloon told local media that the pilot ‘constantly gave us confidence and comfort’, despite the rough landing.
Ms Horsfall, who is travelling in a camper van with her partner and three dogs in Turkey right now, said in her video: ‘Well guys, we’re just leaving Love Valley now and this is not what we expected to see.
Footage shows the balloon deflating as emergency services rush to the scene to assess the passengers
None of the passengers or pilots were injured in the rock landing in Turkey
Ms Horsfall, who is travelling in a camper van with her partner and three dogs in Turkey right now, said in her video (above): ‘Well guys, we’re just leaving Love Valley now and this is not what we expected to see’
Rebecca Horsfall (pictured) went to scenic Cappadocia to take pictures like above for her and her partner’s social media account called The Tails of Travel
‘We’ve been in Cappadocia for a week watching the balloons rise every morning.
‘Thankfully the emergency services got there quickly, looked like everyone has got out safely. I don’t think there’s been any major injuries. Just really shocking to see.’
The local government said in a statement: ‘The hot air balloon in question, which took off from the Paşabağları location at around 05:15 today, made an emergency and safe hard landing during its landing within the borders of Goereme Town.
‘After the emergency landing, the 20 passengers and 2 pilots in the balloon were safely evacuated by our AFAD teams, no injuries occurred, and no adverse events were detected in the health examination of the pilot and passengers in the balloon.’