It was around 10:30 am on Monday when the power was suddenly cut in Locqueltas, north of Vannes (Morbihan).
About 300 inhabitants of the town and two neighboring villages were surprised to no longer have electricity.
The town hall even called the fire department to be concerned.
The reason for this sudden cut was to be found in the air.
Left to fly over Morbihan, a hot air balloon ended its race on a 20,000 volt high-voltage line, causing a power cut.
Alerted, the firefighters dispatched teams to the site but no one was injured, in particular thanks to the insulation of the nacelle and the instantaneous safety of the electrical installation.
A "fairly common" accident
“The three occupants were already out of the basket when we arrived.
No one was injured, ”summarize the emergency services.
The hot air balloon, owned by the Vannes Golfe du Morbihan tourist office, was seriously damaged.
Contacted by
20 Minutes
, Enedis explains that 300 homes were deprived of power for a few moments. Quickly, half of them found the electricity. The others had to wait until 3 p.m., the line having been cut to allow the removal of the canvas. According to our information, only the textile touched the power lines, the nacelle being on the ground. The pilot and the couple of sixties who took advantage of this trip in the air are unscathed.
A team of investigators from the Brest air transport gendarmerie (GTA) went to the site.
The pilot of the hot air balloon was heard and drone overflights of the scene of the accident were carried out, specify the gendarmes.
According to
Ouest-France
, "a big gust pushed the balloon" at the time of landing, dragging it into the electric wires.
An accident "quite common", according to investigators who specify that "power lines are very difficult to see when you are in the air".
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Enedis
electricity
Miscellaneous
Hot air balloon
Accident
Society
Valves