Hot air balloon crash kills five in Albuquerque, New Mexico

The basket the passengers were riding in detached from the balloon and crashed, according to the city's police department.

Witnesses on Twitter described seeing the balloon fall to the ground in a completely deflated state.

The incident cut off power to more than 13,000 people in the area.

The balloon hit the power line just after 07:00 (13:00 GMT) on Saturday, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said.

Two men, including the pilot, and two women died in the crash. The fifth passenger was taken to hospital in critical condition, but later died of his injuries.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the basket fell about 100ft (30m) and crashed on a street before catching fire. The balloon floated off before coming to rest elsewhere.

Joshua Perez was in the area when he heard the crash. He rushed to the scene with another man and helped turn off the propane tank. Mr Perez told KOB4 News that those inside the basket were not moving.

"To see a balloon go down like this, it's heart-breaking," he said.

The cause of the accident is being investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.