Three escape from impaled balloon

The huge balloon quickly wrapped itself around the tower

A veteran US hot-air balloon pilot and two children on their first flight have been forced to scramble to safety after their balloon hit a huge radio tower.

Bill Chapel's balloon caught a gust of wind and was shredded on the 210m tower, at a festival in the state of New Mexico.

Mr Chapel, 69, and his two passengers, Aaron Whitacre, 10, and Troy Wells, 14, scrambled down the tower to safety.

The accident was watched by thousands at the Albuquerque festival.

The annual International Balloon Fiesta describes itself as the biggest gathering of balloonists in the world, with more than 750 balloons taking part over 10 days.

All you can do is grit your teeth and hold on to you passengers and prepare them for impact Balloon pilot Bill Chapel

Mr Chapel, an experienced pilot who had never been involved in an accident, blamed the crash on an unexpected gust of wind.

"Just one of those things. You get a little change in the wind, and a little of this, little of that and next thing you know you're in the soup," he said.

"All you can do is grit your teeth and hold on to your passengers and prepare them for impact."

'Freaking out'

The gondola of the balloon, which was shaped liked the face of US Forest Service children's mascot Smokey Bear, came to rest against the radio tower as the canopy wrapped itself around the main mast.

Balloons at the fiesta came in all shapes and sizes

Engineers shut off the 50,000-watt transmitter to allow the three balloonists to climb carefully down a maintenance ladder towards rescuers at the bottom.

Troy Wells described how he was "freaking out" while trapped on the tower.

"When the basket snagged onto there it was moving back and forth in the wind," he said.

Aaron Whitacre, the youngest of the three, added: "I just thought I was going to fall off."