The US Coastguard said the balloon - piloted by the Virgin tycoon and co-pilots Per Lindstrand and Steve Fossett - landed in the Pacific Ocean 10 miles off Hawaii's Oahu island.

The project's London flight planners confirmed the splashdown at 1945 GMT on Friday.

The coastguard had sent out a cutter and a helicopter to rescue their men. There were no injuries among the crew though they are being transported to a nearby hospital.

Thwarted by the weather

The crew's record bid had been foiled after the balloon became caught in a low pressure trough, losing the winds which would have carried them to the west coast of America.

The crew were said to be feeling "positive"

Speaking before the balloon splashed down, project director Mike Kendrick said: "We were beset with all sorts of problems from the beginning when we launched in Marrakech but they were all political.

"In the end, a weather problem is what stopped us but that is the nature of ballooning."

Mr Kendrick, speaking from the ICO Global control centre in Uxbridge, said Lindstrand, who built the balloon, was the one chosen to land it.

Before the landing, the men were described as being "very chirpy and positive".