Husband tells of his torment as mother of his two kids dies in balloon crash after help took hour-and-a-half to come
Suzanne Astle suffered serious head injuries after falling 20ft during freak weather storm
A distraught British holidaymaker told last night of his torment waiting an hour and a half for help for his dying wife after an horrific hot air balloon crash in South Africa.
Suzanne Astle, 48, was on a dream balloon safari with her husband John and their two sons when it crash landed, hurling her out of the basket.
She suffered serious head injuries on isolated farmland near the north western town of Mooinooi.
But a vital GPS device in the balloon was smashed on impact making it impossible for rescue teams to locate the crashed craft on remote farmland.
And former airline pilot Mr Astle, 53, and his teenage sons Will and Sam spent a traumatic 90 minutes trying to comfort Suzanne as rescuers struggled to find them.
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Mr Astle said yesterday: “It was a trip we had been looking forward to very much and one we had been hugely enjoying before everything changed in a matter of seconds.
“It was coming in quite fast because of the winds and there were two or three impacts as it bounced along - they were severe impacts.
“Suzanne fell out on the first or second impact. It’s hard to be sure because everyone was just fighting to hang on at that stage.
“But then it was about an hour and a half before help arrived - it was horrible.
“It’s painful to go into the details and I don’t want to say much because everything is still so raw.
“There will be a full inquiry but I don’t want to talk about what I saw for the boys’ sake, except to say it all happened very quickly.
“I have concerns about the whole thing but what I am concerned about most now is our loss and getting our lives back together.”
It’s painful to go into the details and I don’t want to say much because everything is still so raw.
John Astle
The red, blue and yellow balloon took off in good weather from Skeerpoort but crashed in high winds as it tried to land near Mooinooi 30 miles away.
Paramedics from Hartbeespoort Emergency Rescue Unit drove more than 40 miles to the crash site after a delay caused when an emergency call was routed to another rescue team which was unable to respond.
Suzanne and a four year-old South African girl and her mother were also seriously hurt in the crash and left stranded with spinal and internal injuries.
The British mum died in hospital the next day leaving her family concerned that the delay could have set back her chances of surviving the smash.
An inquiry was last night focusing on why vital time was lost after the alarm was raised, why there was no back-up GPS device and why a helicopter was not scrambled straight to the scene.
Heartbroken Mr Astle and his sons flew back to his £1.2million home on country estate in Kenilworth, Warwickshire on Thursday night.
Suzanne - one of 14 trippers being flown by a lone pilot - was was flung 20 feet out of the balloon’s basket on to rocky ground in the horror at the end a spectacular dawn ride.
The family were on the £150-per-head “Magalies River Valley Scenic Balloon Safari” run by Original Balloon Safaris during a half-term when tragedy struck.
Wealthy Mr Astle, a local councillor and keen golfer, lives in in the grounds of Grade One listed Stoneleigh Abbey in Kenilworth.
His 14-year-old son Will attends a private school in the area.
A neighbour said yesterday: “There are just no words for it - it’s shocking.
"They were towards the end of their holiday.
There are just no words for it - it’s shocking.
Neighbour
“As soon as it happened John flew back with the children, they came back last night. I just don’t know what he can be thinking right now.”
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “Those poor children. They were so excited for this holiday I just can’t believe it.
Another woman said: “They are always so friendly whenever I see them. It’s just so awful.”
The balloon flight was operated by a firm run for 35 years by British expat Bill Harrop, originally from Whitley Bay, Northumberland.
Mr Harrop, 76, told The Sun yesterday: “I am beyond devastated. Nothing like this has ever happened in all the years I have run 100,000 balloon flights in South Africa.
“I don’t blame the pilot - he did all he could - but the freak wind conditions made it impossible to land safely.
“At the end of the day ballooning is an adventure activity and with adventure comes risk but when the wind blows four to six times faster than its forecast, it can catch you out.
“My heart goes out to the family of the British lady. We’re all terribly upset.”
The Astle family were the only Brits on board the balloon, and were joined by Italian tourists, a Brazilian couple – the only pair to be unharmed – and South Africans.
The four-year-old girl, from South Africa was stilkl in intensive care last night after being put into an induced coma after being airlifted to hospital.
Both she and her mother were said to be serious but stable last night.
Survivor Olivia Denny, 70, said: “The wind swept us away. It felt like driving backwards in a car at 40km/h.
“We were dragged through bushes and rocks before we landed between two trees. We had to hold on for dear life.’
“It was supposed to be one beautiful day out, but it turned into an absolute nightmare.”