'I just saw them go': Photographer's wild ride as balloon crashes near Queenstown
Rob Pine crawled out from a downed hot air balloon to see two seriously injured passengers had been thrown more than 100 metres away.
“The two that were next to me were the ones who got thrown out ... I just saw them go,” he said.
The injured pair were flown to Dunedin Hospital after the balloon crashed on Morven Ferry Rd, near Arrowtown in Otago, just before 10am on Friday. They remained in hospital in a stable condition, and were progressing favourably, a hospital spokeswoman said on Monday.
That was a relief for Pine, a Picton-based freelance photographer, who held on with only one hand as the balloon crashed. “I don’t let my camera go ... my camera is worth more than me.”
Read more about Rob's experience here.
Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
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20.1% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
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69.6% Nah - not for me
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I dance in the sky with green and gold, a spectacle few are lucky to behold; I’m best seen in the south, a celestial sight—what am I, lighting up the New Zealand night?
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