Carterton balloon tragedy

Denise Dellabarca had been meaning to take a balloon trip for a while, but her dream turned to tragedy when she died in Saturday's fiery crash.

The shock of Saturday's fiery balloon crash is still sinking in as the family of a retired Masterton couple await the return of their remains.

Police will today start to interview first responders to the scene of the hot-air balloon tragedy in Carterton as they continue the investigation into the disaster.

Hot air ballooning activities in Queenstown have not experienced any issues in the wake of a fatal ballooning accident in the Wairarapa, where 11 people died on Saturday.

A private balloon trip with his son is the "marvellous'' memory that stands out for the father of a pilot killed in a ballooning crash yesterday.

A gust of wind, pilot error or mechanical failure could have been to blame for carrying an ill-fated balloon into power lines yesterday, sparking a catastrophic fire and cutting power to 3800 homes

A young couple who died in yesterday's ballooning tragedy had been together for a year after spending time on a church mission to Africa.

The pilot killed with his 10 passengers yesterday was due to have married this summer.

Eleven people have been killed after a hot air balloon crashed near Carterton this morning, in New zealand's worst aviation disaster since the 1979 Erebus crash.