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Hot air balloon crash injures 3 in Wisconsin

The pilot and two passengers were hurt after the balloon they were in got entangled with a Canadian National train in Burlington, officials said.
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Three people injured Wednesday when the hot-air balloon they were in became entangled with a train in Wisconsin have been released from the hospital, police said Thursday.

Police in Burlington were called on a report of a hot-air balloon that was struck by a train around 8:15 p.m., police said, and the three victims were initially said to have suffered life-threatening injuries.

By Thursday, the pilot and two passengers had been released from a Milwaukee-area hospital, police said in a statement.

The pilot told officials that as he was trying to land the aircraft when the gondola touched down and the balloon got entangled with a northbound Canadian National train, Thursday’s police statement said.

It was not clear how fast the train was moving. Canadian National, a freight company, declined to comment.

The Federal Aviation Administration has said that the crash involved a Cameron Balloons Z-90 hot air balloon.

The investigation remains ongoing. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating it as an accident, and a preliminary report should be finished in two weeks.

Burlington is a city of around 11,000 about 30 miles southwest of Milwaukee.

The crash happened almost a year after a deadly accident involving a hot-air balloon in New Mexico.

On June 26, 2021, five people died after the hot air balloon they were in crashed into a power line in Albuquerque.