A hot air balloon landed on Okanagan Lake Sunday morning; fire crews and boat operators helped those on board get off safely.
No one was reported to be injured.
“We aren’t sure how many people were on board,” said platoon captain Steve Roshinsky with the Kelowna Fire Department.
The fire department was called around 9 a.m. about a hot air balloon about 200 feet above the lake.
“We were monitoring it at the time, a little while later, the caller called back and said the basket definitely did go into the water,” Roshinsky said.
“That’s when we dispatched our marine rescue boat out and they responded.”
The occupants of the hot air balloon ended up boarding boats that were already on the water.
“The pilot of the hot air balloon jumped into the water sometime later and he was rescued before we arrived,” he said.
The empty balloon lifted off again after touching the water and eventually to an area near Fintry where fire crews tried to pull it to the shore.
“You don’t want that thing floating in the water for boaters.”
The pilot, John Klempner, of Okanagan Ballooning wasn’t able to handle a sudden change in wind, according to the North Westside Fire Department.
The fire chief said the fuel also ran out, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing on the water.
Fire crews had to leave the balloon on the lake near Fintry and contacted a salvage company to retrieve it.
Officials said some local residents helped get the basket off the hot air balloon and to the shore.
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