Man who died in Alqueva left the basket of a hot air balloon after ditching, says witness

Alexandra Santos, the deceased victim’s girlfriend, told the Lusa agency that the hot air balloon they were both traveling in, with 10 other passengers and the pilot, was preparing to land on the banks of the reservoir when, due to the wind, it changed direction.

The man whose body was found this Sunday on the banks of the Alqueva reservoir, in Mourão (Évora), is believed to have left the basket of the hot air balloon in which he was heading to the water after ditching, according to a witness.

Alexandra Santos, the deceased victim’s girlfriend, told the Lusa agency that the hot air balloon they were both traveling in, with 10 other passengers and the pilot, was preparing to land on the banks of the reservoir when, due to the wind, it changed direction.

“The balloon started to tilt towards the water, because of the winds, and, at the speed we were going, the pilot also had no chance and we hit the water, but very close to the shore. We all got wet feet,” he reported.

However, continued Alexandra Santos, the aerial vehicle “continued to move” towards the interior of the reservoir, and the pilot then suggested that some passengers “go outside to pull the basket to land”.

The man, who ended up dying, then entered the water, “the balloon rose” and “hit the water again”, for the second time, now “further away from the shore”, highlighted this witness.

“No one saw it standing up, but it was close to the shore when we last saw it,” he said, indicating that the hot air balloon then landed in an olive grove.

Noting that she has already given her testimony to the Judiciary Police (PJ), which is investigating the case, Alexandra Santos stressed that the man “did not have a foot in the area where he stayed”, after the balloon had risen again.

“There were no life jackets” in this aerial vehicle, but even though the passengers were not supposed to go into the water, “it made sense” to have them, as the hot air balloon flew over an “area with so much water”, he added.

Lusa tried to contact the company responsible for the hot air balloon, Wind Passeger, but several attempts proved unsuccessful.

The circumstances surrounding the death of the 55-year-old man are being investigated by the PJ, reported the GNR.

A source from the Central Alentejo Sub-Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command told Lusa that the alert for the occurrence was given at 10:19.

Tiago Ramos, from the Municipal Civil Protection Service of Mourão, limited himself to telling Lusa that the firefighters, when they arrived at the scene, found the body next to the banks of the reservoir.

Previously, according to this official, the victim’s body had been found by “an employee of the hot air balloon company”, who raised the alarm.

This tourist trip had started in the Monsaraz area, in the neighboring municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz.

The relief operations mobilized a total of 18 firefighters from Mourão, National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) and GNR, supported by nine vehicles.