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Journalism of Courage
A dramatic scene unfolded on the streets of Bedford in the United Kingdom after a hot air balloon made an emergency landing in a residential area Saturday. A bystander filmed the incident and it has since gone viral.
According to The Guardian, Sam Coldham spotted the balloon descending in Bower Street in the east of England town at 9.30 am when he was walking his dog with his partner. The viral video shows the balloon attempting to land in a residential area, which appeared to be a parking lot, with several wires and transmission poles.
As the balloon approaches the ground, onlookers rush to help. One of them grabs onto the rope to avoid the balloon crashing into houses.
Sharing the video, an X handle, @aviationbrk wrote, “The Variohm Components-branded balloon began plunging to the ground while attempting to land in nearby Russell Park. The British Balloon and Airship Club confirmed the balloon “landed without incident”, adding that everyone was ‘OK”.”
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The video garnered over 80,000 views, prompting an array of reactions. “That’s the second in a matter of days, another had an encounter with a chimney in Bristol,” a user noted. “Glad no one was hurt before must have had a park it open space I know they cannot control them but going near houses must have been avoidable,” another user wrote.
“Crazy moment !Can’t believe how close it came to hitting that car. Huge credit to the residents who rushed in and helped guide it down safely,” a third user reacted.
Sian, who recorded the video, said, as quoted by Metro UK, “I think the conditions were really still with not a lot of wind, so it lost momentum, I think. The guys said my partner, Sam, saved their bacon. It was very, very close to a real disaster.”
