Four people died at the scene and a fifth person died later at a hospital, Mayor Tim Keller of Albuquerque said.
Five people died after a hot-air balloon crashed into a power line in Albuquerque on Saturday morning, the authorities said.
Four people died at the scene, and one man was taken to a hospital where he later died, Mayor Tim Keller said at a news conference Saturday afternoon
The victims who died at the scene were identified as Susan Montoya, 65; Mary Martinez, 59; Martin Martinez, 62; and the pilot, Nicholas Meleski, 62, New Mexico State Police said in a statement on Sunday. John Montoya, 61, died at a hospital.
Mr. and Mrs. Martinez and Ms. Montoya were from Albuquerque, the State Police said. Mr. Martinez was a former police officer in the city, Mr. Keller said.
Harold Medina, the Albuquerque police chief, said several of his officers who responded to the crash had to be sent home later because they were so disturbed by what had happened.
“It took its toll on them,” Chief Medina said. “In 26 years, it’s one of the scenes that hit me the most, because it was just such a beautiful moment that led to such a tragic ending for these individuals involved.”
The crash happened around 7:34 a.m. local time near a CVS pharmacy on Unser Boulevard and Central Avenue in an area dotted with stores and restaurants.
“This is going to deeply affect our community,” Mr. Keller said, adding that because of the location of the crash, it’s likely that hundreds of Albuquerque residents saw it happen.
The gondola of the balloon, which was carrying all five individuals, crashed into power lines, caught fire and slammed into the street. The balloon then detached and floated away, said Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman.
It was unclear whether the balloon was falling before it hit the power lines, Mr. Keller said. The gondola fell about 100 feet, said Tom Ruiz, a spokesman for Albuquerque Fire Rescue.
The cause of the crash was under investigation, Mr. Keller said.
“There are always things that can happen, whether it’s wind, whether it’s equipment, and it’s something that our pilots always trained for,” he said.
The Federal Aviation Agency said in a statement that the balloon was a Cameron 0-120, which fell about six miles west of the Albuquerque International Sunport airport.
Joshua Perez was at a gym when he heard what sounded like gunshots, he told the television station KOB. He and another man rushed to the scene with a fire extinguisher.
“It was like a loud ‘boom boom,’” he said, “and that’s when I’d seen the balloon already going by itself, and I was like, ‘Where’s the basket?’”
Mr. Perez helped turn off the propane tank but it was too late to save the passengers, he said.
“You could just see them on the ground,” he said. “No one was moving.”
The remnants of the balloon landed on a home in Austin Council’s neighborhood in Albuquerque. Mr. Council, 24, woke up to a loud whooshing sound, he said.
“The second that I looked outside and saw the fabric I knew something was wrong,” Mr. Council said in an interview on Saturday morning. “It was a little scary because the basket and people weren’t with the balloon.”
Albuquerque has an active hot-air ballooning scene, and pilots are used to navigating the windy weather in the Southwest, Mr. Gallegos said.
The police did not know if the balloon was owned by a hot-air balloon company or an individual person.
Jesus Jimenez and Eduardo Medina contributed reporting.
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