Pilot survives balloon crash but dies in fall

A Briton fell to his death after escaping unscathed from his hot air balloon which crash landed in the Alps.

The lone pilot, 60, called friends in another balloon shortly after emerging from the basket in the French mountains at 6,000 feet. He said he could see a cluster of chalets below and would climb down the rocks.

But police believe he slipped on ice and fell into a ravine. A spokesman said: "When he went to seek help he fell down the mountain and died. It is icy and dangerous there. It was getting dark when the balloon crashed."

Locals alerted police at 5.15pm yesterday after seeing the deflated balloon above Abondance on the col de Tavaneuse.

A helicopter flew over the area but there was no sign of the pilot. Teams of mountain rescuers discovered the man's body at 10pm.