Hot-Air Balloon Basket Kills German Tourist In Switzerland

GENEVA, Sept 5 (NNN-dpa) -- An 86-year-old German man has died after being struck by the basket of a hot-air balloon on a meadow in Switzerland near Lake Constance, canton Thurgau police said on Friday, reported German news agency dpa.

The man, from the Konstanz district, succumbed to his serious injuries at the scene.

He had been part of a group, some of whom intended to take part in the balloon flight, a police spokesman told dpa. The accident occurred on Thursday evening during the launch process.

How it happened is still under investigation. 

The balloon was due to take off from a meadow near Salen-Reutenen, around 20 kilometres west of the city of Konstanz.

--NNN-dpa