CBS News
4 dead, 1 critically hurt in Arizona hot air balloon crash
![](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/01/14/33d85b00-5b67-4dec-b5f0-dd66772742e8/thumbnail/1200x630/1fb544ade5ffa3f88f47d00e41887e6e/gettyimages-147000063-1.jpg?v=50926e3bde2e7c9caafa13eb3f9693b5)
Four people were killed Sunday morning when a hot air balloon crashed in Arizona, police said.
The balloon came down around 7:50 a.m. local time in the desert area east of Sunshine Boulevard and Hanna Road, officials in Eloy said. Eloy is about 65 miles southeast of Phoenix.
One person was critically injured in the crash. There were five people on board at the time of the deadly crash, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The Eloy Police Department has not yet publicly identified the victims of Sunday’s crash.
Police in Eloy said they’re looking into the incident alongside the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA to determine the cause of the deadly crash. Investigators were on scene examining the downed balloon, identified by the NTSB as a Cameron Balloons A160 aircraft, on Sunday.
“The preliminary information is that the balloon impacted desert terrain following an unspecified problem with its envelope,” an NTSB spokesperson said.
The aircraft will be brought to a secure facility for additional evaluation.
Earlier this year, two people died and a girl was injured after the hot air balloon they were riding in caught fire near Mexico City. Five people died in 2021 after a hot air balloon crashed into power lines in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in
for more features.
CBS News
Questions on neurologist’s White House visits spark heated exchange over Biden’s health
![](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/08/41f2f6cf-3deb-4b45-945b-55472475343a/thumbnail/1200x630/e44bc2c5f6ced329047edc8d9379e789/cbsn-fusion-questions-about-biden-visits-with-neurologist-spark-heated-exchange-in-white-house-briefing-thumbnail-3036953-640x360.jpg?v=2287029998c5246c93d6dd038eb30603)
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
CBS News
Russian playwright, theater director sentenced to prison on terrorism charges
![](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/08/82c6dfbe-1acc-4e5f-be97-ec16de0ffb00/thumbnail/1200x630/2b8fd6e0a2e5ab0fd0884edc8f55d2b2/ap24190592302137.jpg?v=2287029998c5246c93d6dd038eb30603)
A Russian court on Monday convicted a theater director and a playwright of terrorism charges and sentenced them to six years each in prison, the latest in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent across the country that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have already been in jail for over a year awaiting trial.
Authorities claimed their play “Finist, the Brave Falcon” justifies terrorism, which is a criminal offense in Russia punishable by up to seven years in prison. Berkovich and Petriychuk have both repeatedly rejected the accusations against them.
In one hearing, Berkovich told the court that she staged the play in order to prevent terrorism, and Petriychuk echoed her sentiment, saying that she wrote it in order to prevent events like those depicted in the play.
The women’s lawyers pointed out at court hearings before the trial that the play was supported by the Russian Culture Ministry and won the Golden Mask award, Russia’s most prestigious national theater award. In 2019, the play was read to inmates of a women’s prison in Siberia, and Russia’s state penitentiary service praised it on its website, Petriychuk’s lawyer said.
Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
The case against Berkovich and Petriychuk elicited outrage in Russia. An open letter in support of the two artists, started by the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was signed by more than 16,000 people since their arrest.
The play, the letter argued, “carries an absolutely clear anti-terrorist sentiment.”
Dozens of Russian actors, directors and journalists also signed affidavits urging the court to release the two from custody pending investigation and trial.
Immediately after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin unleashed a sweeping campaign of repression, unparalleled since the Soviet era. It has effectively criminalized any criticism of the war, with the authorities targeting not only prominent opposition figures who eventually received draconian prison terms, but anyone who spoke out against it, publicly or otherwise.
Pressure mounted on critical artists in Russia, too. Actors and directors were fired from state-run theaters, and musicians were blacklisted from performing in the country. Some were slapped with the label “foreign agent,” which carries additional government scrutiny and strong negative connotations. Many have left Russia.
Berkovich, who is raising two adopted daughters, refused to leave Russia and continued working with her independent theater production in Moscow, called Soso’s Daughters. Shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine, she staged an anti-war picket and was jailed for 11 days.
CBS News
Which lawmakers are calling for Biden to drop out of 2024 race?
![](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/08/1b7e2a14-35d8-476c-932d-49f88ce426e1/thumbnail/1200x630/0230755b4982427d80092771b873bba4/cbsn-fusion-lawmakers-calling-biden-drop-out-2024-presidential-race-thumbnail.jpg?v=2287029998c5246c93d6dd038eb30603)
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.