Up to 16 feared dead in Texas balloon crash

Up to 16 people are feared dead after a large hot air balloon caught fire and crashed in central Texas onyesterday, officials said.

The accident took place shortly after 7:40 am (1240 GMT), when the balloon crashed into a field near Lockhart, around 30 miles south of Austin, Lynn Lunsford of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.

"It does not appear at this time that there were any survivors of the crash," police said.

A photo posted on social media apparently depicting the accident showed a balloon in the air with huge flames spurting underneath.

If all 16 fatalities are confirmed, the crash would be the deadliest US hot air balloon accident on record.