Hot air balloon makes emergency landing in Ajmer jail

A hot air balloon with pilot and two westerners on board made an emergency landing in a prison complex on Tuesday evening, prompting the alarmed authorities to launch an immediate inquiry.

The balloon, one of the main attractions of the annual five-day Pushkar fair, being held nearly 15 kilometers from Ajmer, drifted away due to strong winds in the area, flew across hills and above the artificial Anna Sagar lake in Ajmer.

The police said that when the pilot finally spotted an empty field, he made an emergency landing, unaware that the space was within the premises of a jail.

"Two foreign tourists came from Jaipur to Pushkar for the fair. Around 5 pm they boarded the balloon. The pilot claims that the wind was strong, because of which he crossed the mountains and the Anna Sagar lake. He saw this empty space and made a landing," said a police officer, Hanuman Singh.

The jail was then placed under high alert due to the breach of security. Singh said that investigations into the matter were on.

The manager of the balloon company, Kapil Sharma, came out in support of the balloon operator, claiming that such landings were common in cases of emergency.

"This is not a mere accident, this is a landing. Everywhere in the world, emergency landings are made. The pilot saw the empty field from the balloon and landed," said Sharma.

The two westerners and the pilot were later released from the jail premises amid high security.

The Pushkar fair, a five-day annual gala is one of the largest livestock festivals in the world in which thousands of animals, mainly camels, are brought to the fair to be sold and traded.

Many international and domestic tourists throng to Pushkar to witness one of the most colorful and popular fairs.