Haunting vid shows final moments of thrillseeker who plunged 1,500ft to his death from hot air balloon over Melbourne

HAUNTING video has shown the final moments of a thrillseeker before he plunged 1,500ft to his death from a hot air balloon in Melbourne.

The victim can be seen wearing a brown jumper in footage taken by one of the other ten passengers on board as the balloon descends into the sky.

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The man is seen wearing a brown jumper as the balloon takes off[/caption]

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The man fell out of the circled balloon[/caption]

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The scene where his body was found[/caption]

Video taken from below also shows the balloon during its decent around 7am on Monday morning.

Witnesses said the man seemed fine and was chatting with the ride operator about politics as the balloon launched into the air.

But in a suspected act of self harm, the man exited the basket without warning and plunged to his death.

The pilot made an immediate may day call as horrified motorists and families on the ground witnessed the man falling through the air.

Passengers on board the hot air balloon are reported to be deeply traumatised by what happened and have been offered counselling by the operator.

The man’s body was found in a front garden in Albert Street in Preston, a suburb in north-east Melbourne, shortly after.

Emergency services were immediately called to the scene, where power lines had fallen across the road.

A white sheet soon covered the man’s body on the footpath underneath an SES tent.

As for the hot air balloon, it safely landed in a Yarra Bend Park in Faifrield 4.9 miles away, with police already waiting.

According to passengers on a different hot air balloon, they heard distress calls over the radio reporting that someone had fallen from another balloon in Preston.

Shocked residents were also alerted to loud sirens in the streets shortly after hearing a loud “thud”.

One resident told local media: “My brother heard like a loud bang, almost like something like a large item falling in your house. And it wasn’t until we heard all the sirens that we came out.”

Power was cut to a number of homes, along with reports of building damage.

Officers will prepare a report for the coroner.

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.

EPA

The man’s body was covered by a white blanket inside the SES tent[/caption]

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The hot air balloon was swarmed by police and taken away[/caption]