A hot air balloon carrying 34 passengers tragically crashed in a meadow in Friesland, northern Netherlands, on Wednesday evening, leaving one person dead and injuring five others, local authorities confirmed.
Local authorities in Friesland reported that the balloon “came down quickly around 9 pm and hit the ground hard,” adding that the site is cordoned off, and the aviation police are investigating the accident.
A spokesperson for the Royal Netherlands Aeronautical Association told local media that “a sudden gust of wind had caused the balloon to strike the ground forcefully, making the basket bounce and leading to five people falling out.”
Boer bij wie luchtballon neerkwam, hoorde over harde wind De ballonvaarder uit de luchtballon in het Friese De Hoeve vertelde na het ongeluk woensdagavond dat er plotseling harde wind was. Dat zegt boer Jacob Bosma na berichtgeving bij Omrop Fryslân. pic.twitter.com/8rF48U7Grg
— maverick2496 🇳🇱 Tjitte de vries (@maverick24961) August 14, 2025
Emergency services sent 14 ambulances, a mobile medical team, two on-duty medical officers, a Red Cross emergency unit, two air ambulances, and a medical van to the scene. Authorities declared a Grip 1 emergency, a protocol in which all responding agencies report to a single commanding officer to simplify coordination.
“You can imagine, 34 people in a basket like that immediately creates a huge panic situation,” Jan Willem Zwart, spokesperson for Veiligheidsregio Friesland, the regional emergency services office, told Omrop Fryslân. “A hot air balloon bouncing down has a huge impact. That impact can also be internal,” he added.
The balloon, which is reportedly one of the largest operating in the Netherlands, had taken off from Joure at around 20:00 local time. According to the Dutch meteorological service KNMI, forecasts had warned of gusty winds of up to 14 knots, but local observations near the crash site recorded gusts reaching 17 knots, which is higher than typical and potentially dangerous.
@hln_be Een luchtballon met 34 mensen is gecrasht in Friesland; 1 dode, 5 gewonden, waaronder 3 in levensgevaar. #hln #luchtballon #friesland #ziekenhuis #viral ♬ News serious information news program – gooooodee_jay
A man from Heerenveen, who witnessed the accident while driving home, told RTL Nieuws, “It happened very quickly and very abruptly. Initially, I wanted to wait a bit before driving on to see how the balloon would start its descent. But before I even stopped, I saw the balloon make a rather hard landing. It seemed as if its speed was increasing instead of decreasing. It bounced on the ground, but also went back up quite high. And it repeated itself several times.”
The victim, a 66-year-old woman from the Frisian municipality of Opsterland, died at the scene despite resuscitation efforts. She had been celebrating a colleague’s work anniversary.
Five other passengers were hospitalised, three with serious injuries. No further information about their medical condition was released.
