Southern duo cheat death

BY CASSANDRA POKONEY

A former southern couple had a nightmare end to their Christmas celebrations when what was supposed to be a dream hot air balloon ride turned into a horrific crash on Boxing Day.

Russell Lee was left with a punctured lung, cracked ribs and a broken pelvis and his wife Karen suffered bruises after the balloon they were in crashed into a power pole and tree during a storm on Australia's Gold Coast.

Mrs Lee, who was born and raised in Southland but now lives in Queensland, said she and her husband had planned the balloon ride for months after she was given a $1000 voucher for long service by her employer last year.

Arriving at the balloon launch site before daybreak on Saturday, the pair joined 15 others for the flight near Mt Tamborine, on Australia's Gold Coast.

About "five or 10 minutes" into the ride, a storm blew in, forcing the pilot to end the flight, Mrs Lee said.

"It was just a whiteout – you couldn't see anything," she said.

The pilot attempted to land the balloon, but the craft was going too fast, so he ascended again, skimming tree tops, she said.

The passengers were told to "brace themselves" as the balloon clipped a power pole, narrowly missed a house and then hit a tree, she said.

"We broke a power pole off, missed a house by a couple of feet and then hit a tree, which stopped us dead," Mrs Lee said.

"It was terrifying. I thought we were history," she said.

The balloon came to rest on a dry dam, she said.

Other passengers suffered minor injuries, she said.

Mrs Lee said she woke up "stiff and sore" yesterday but was otherwise unhurt.

She said she had spoken to representatives from balloon company Balloon Aloft, who had "been good", but she did not know if her money would be refunded.

Mrs Lee said while she did not hold the company or pilot responsible for the crash, the balloon "probably shouldn't have gone up".

The crash was the end to a bad year for Mr Lee, who had already had two back operations.

His pelvis injury meant he would be forced to lie on his back in hospital for the next six weeks, Mrs Lee said.

A chronic asthmatic, his punctured lung also worried the family because he was prone to pneumonia, she said.

Plans for an overseas trip in the middle of next year were being re-evaluated and the crash had also ended plans to use the rest of the voucher to parasail and do a lap in a V8 racing car, she said.

The Lees' son Jason, who arrived in Invercargill from Brisbane last night, said his father's injuries were worse than first thought. It was discovered last night Mr Lee was bleeding internally.

"I was a bit apprehensive about leaving, but at least he's in a decent hospital now."

Mr Lee was taken to a small country hospital after the crash and it took until 4pm for him to be transferred to the Gold Coast Hospital, which had better facilities, he said.

"So he's in better hands now."

Mr Lee's Invercargill-based mother Frances said the family were shocked to hear of the crash but were pleased no-one had been killed. "We didn't know what really happened. We got an awful shock," she said.

Representatives from Balloon Aloft declined to comment on the crash yesterday, hanging up on The Southland Times because they were "too busy".

- © Fairfax NZ News