At least eight people were killed when a hot air balloon with 21 people on board caught fire in southern Brazil on Saturday.

Jorginho Mello, the governor of Santa Catarina state, where the incident occurred, took to X to express his condolences.

In a video, he said:  "We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened. But the important thing now is for the state structure to do what it can."

Mello said he has asked authorities to head to the municipality "to do as much as possible to rescue, to help, to take to hospital, to comfort the families."

Videos taken by bystanders and carried on Brazilian television showed the moment when the balloon erupted in flames above the coastal town of Praia Grande. The weather conditions were clear as the basket carrying the passengers plummeted dozens of meters to the ground in flames.

"According to the pilot, who is one of the survivors, a fire started inside the basket and then he began to lower the balloon," Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper quoted Praia Grande head police officer Tiago Luiz Lemos as saying.  

"When the balloon was very close to the ground, he ordered people to jump out of the basket. Some of them didn't manage to jump. The fire increased and the balloon ended up falling," Lemos added.

Praia Grande, on the Atlantic coast, is a popular destination for hot-air ballooning in Brazil, especially during June festivities that celebrate Catholic saints such as Saint John.

It is the second fatal balloon accident in the country in just a few days. Less than a week ago, a woman died during a hot air balloon ride in southeastern Sao Paulo state.

Edited by Sean Sinico