The circumstances surrounding the man's fall from the balloon remain unclear, and authorities are presently not treating the case as suspicious. Despite the tragic event, the balloon managed to land safely, ensuring the other passengers' safe disembarkation.
From TMZ:
A male passenger fell without warning from a commercial hot-air balloon Monday -- which took off from Melbourne -- less than 30 minutes into his ride. The body reportedly landed in a residential area with the hot-air balloon making a safe landing many miles away.
According to local eyewitnesses ... many residents in the suburb didn't realize what had occurred until sirens were heard. In fact, a loud bang was heard before emergency responders arrived.
The incident caused several powerlines to go down and a large police presence to block off the local street from morning traffic.
While the tragedy is not being treated as suspicious, cops are speaking with the other occupants in the balloon to try and deduce what exactly caused the unexpected fall.
The National Commercial Hot-Air Ballooning Industry and the Australian Ballooning Federation have spoken out about the tragedy, assuring people that hot-air balloon baskets are designed to prevent passengers from falling out ... so it's unclear what may have caused this.
They say the operator will be arranging for psychological support and counseling for the witnesses affected.
