Eleven people have been injured after a hot air balloon crashed while landing near Arrowtown this morning.
A hot air balloon crash landed on farmland near Morven Ferry Road, Queenstown. Photo: Supplied / Garth Dawson
Emergency services were alerted about the incident on Morven Ferry Road just before 10am.
A St John ambulance spokesperson said two people were seriously injured and were to Dunedin Hospital by helicopter.
One person with moderate injuries and eight who had minor injuries were taken by ambulance to Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said St John sent two helicopters, four ambulances, a manager in a first response vehicle and a First Response Unit to the scene.
The balloon is operated by locally-owned Sunrise Balloon Adventures - a family run business which has existed since the late 1990s.
The balloon this morning. Photo: Supplied / Garth Dawson
Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult told Nine to Noon the balloon had come down on farm land near the junction of State Highway 6 and the back road to Arrowtown.
"The briefing that I've had from police is that it wasn't an emergency landing, it landed where it was supposed to land but the landing itself went wrong."
"The landing itself went wrong" - Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult
Boult said his understanding was that the hot air balloon was hit by a gust of wind at the point of landing.
"I also understand that powerlines weren't actually involved in the accident when it happened, the balloon subsequently dragged across the ground and impacted powerlines [going to a house] ... not actually part of the accident itself."
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has confirmed it is investigating.
The commission's spokesperson Simon Pleasants said two investigators were travelling to Arrowtown and will be on site tomorrow morning.
The commission said earlier today that it had a number of questions to answer before deciding whether the investigate.
In general those included the likelihood the commission would be able to make findings about the accident and whether those findings could improve and promote transport safety.
They also assessed the number of people involved, the size and type of vehicle involved, and whether any dangerous goods were on board, the spokesperson said.
The Civil Aviation Authority was also awaiting further information, but it was possible for investigations to run parallel.