Eight dead, 13 injured as hot-air balloon catches fire, crashes in Brazil

A hot-air balloon caught fire and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil 's southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people, firefighters said.
Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames as it hurdled towards the ground.
Thirteen people survived and were taken to hospitals, Santa Catarina's military fire brigade said, adding that 21 people were on board including the pilot.
Last Sunday, a balloon fell in Sao Paulo state, killing a 27-year-old woman and injuring 11 others, G1 reported.
Praia Grande is a common destination for hot-air ballooning, a popular activity in some parts of Brazil's south during June festivities that celebrate Catholic saints such as Saint John.

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Business Standard

a day ago

• Business Standard

Eight dead, 13 injured as hot-air balloon catches fire, crashes in Brazil

A hot-air balloon caught fire and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil 's southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people, firefighters said. Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames as it hurdled towards the ground. Thirteen people survived and were taken to hospitals, Santa Catarina's military fire brigade said, adding that 21 people were on board including the pilot. Last Sunday, a balloon fell in Sao Paulo state, killing a 27-year-old woman and injuring 11 others, G1 reported. Praia Grande is a common destination for hot-air ballooning, a popular activity in some parts of Brazil's south during June festivities that celebrate Catholic saints such as Saint John.

Mint

3 days ago

• Mint

Ireland begins dig at mass grave of 800 babies exposed by historian

After more than a decade of tireless research and ridicule, Catherine Corless—the historian who uncovered the burial site of nearly 800 babies at Tuam, County Galway, beneath a former Irish home for unwed mothers—is finally seeing justice take root. Excavation crews began work this week at the grounds of the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, marking a major turning point in one of Ireland's darkest historical reckonings. In an interview with The Irish Times, Corless reflected on her struggle to bring the truth to light. 'It's just beginning to dawn on me now,' she said. 'It has taken a while to sink in.' Her work first gained national attention in 2014, when she uncovered death certificates for 796 children who died at the Tuam home between the 1920s and 1961—but found only one corresponding burial record. Convinced the children's remains were still on site, she pushed for answers while facing relentless opposition. The local backlash was immediate and intense, she reportedly told the news outlet. 'People would cross the street to avoid me,' Corless told The Irish Times. Strangers harassed her in supermarkets, while others accused her of smearing the town's name. 'You're about as credible as Santa Claus. You're a disgrace,' a man wrote in an email to her just days ago, on June 15. 'I hope those nuns bring you to court.' But on Monday, Corless was vindicated. The fenced-off site where the babies' bodies were buried—some inside a decommissioned septic tank—is now under forensic control, with a full-scale excavation underway. In 2017, government investigators confirmed what Corless had long suspected: a mass grave was found beneath the grounds of the home. DNA analysis later revealed the remains belonged to babies and children ranging from 35 weeks gestation to three years old. The home, run by an order of Catholic nuns until its closure in 1961, was one of many institutions in Ireland where unmarried pregnant women were placed—often forcibly—and their children hidden, mistreated, or adopted without consent. 'All those lovely little children and babies, that's the one thing that drove me,' Corless told The Irish Times. 'That's all that was in my mind—these babies in a sewage system, they have to come out.' The broader scandal is staggering: nearly 9,000 children are believed to have died in 18 mother-and-baby homes across Ireland. Most succumbed to illnesses like gastroenteritis, whooping cough, diphtheria, and tuberculosis. But the lack of burial records—particularly in Tuam—points to deep institutional neglect. In 2021, the Irish government issued a formal apology for the mistreatment of women and children in these homes, acknowledging that 'a profound failure of empathy, understanding and basic humanity' had occurred. Daniel MacSweeney, head of the excavation project, said the process is expected to take two years. Families will have the opportunity to view the work as it progresses. Identified remains will be returned to relatives; unidentified remains will be buried respectfully. 'This is not just an excavation,' MacSweeney noted. 'It is a national act of recognition and dignity.' For Corless, that long-overdue dignity is finally beginning to emerge from the soil of Tuam. As she quietly watches the start of the dig she spent years fighting for, her words ring as powerfully now as when she began: 'It's about doing the right thing.'

NDTV

5 days ago

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796 Babies Buried Under Shelter Home For Unmarried, Pregnant Women

In Ireland's small town of Tuam, County Galway, authorities will soon start excavating a site believed to be the burial ground of nearly 800 babies and children. A team of investigators has initiated a forensic probe this week. According to Catherine Corless, a local historian, 798 children died at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home between 1925 and 1961, but only two were buried in a proper cemetery. The other 796 children are believed to have been dumped in a septic tank, known as the pit, The NY Post reported. Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, also know as The Home, now a modern apartment complex, was demolished in 1971. The unmarried pregnant women were sent to Bon Secours Home to give birth. The Home was run by a group of Catholic nuns who used to take care of both the children and the mothers. After the babies were born, they were taken away from their mothers and handed over to the nuns without the consent of their families. However, the mothers were forced to stay there for a year to do unpaid work. At Bon Secours, the women who became pregnant again were often sent to Magdalene laundries. This institution held women who were tricked or forced into sexual activities, victims of rape or incest, orphaned girls and those abandoned or abused by their families. The tragedy at Bon Secours was uncovered after Ms Corless's findings in 2014. However, the excavation at the site could only begin after the Irish government passed a new law in 2022 allowing it to officially dig the site and search for the remains of the children. Annette McKay, whose sister is thought to be among the 798 victims, told Sky News, "I don't care if it's a thimbleful, as they tell me there wouldn't be many remains left; at six months old, it's mainly cartilage more than bone." The excavation may take up to two years to identify the remains of the infants and rebury them in a dignified manner.