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Newlyweds Among Dead In Texas Balloon Crash

A recently-married couple have been named as two of the 16 victims of a hot air balloon flight which caught fire and crashed in Texas.

Matt and Sunday Rowan, both 34, married in February. Matt was a professor and burns treatment researcher. Sunday had a five-year-old son.

The couple posted pictures on social media before and during the Saturday morning balloon trip.

Matt's brother, Josh Rowan, said: "It's a bit haunting now but I guess it was a bit of a play-by-play."

The basket portion of the balloon is believed to have caught fire before the craft came down in a field near Lockhart, about 30 miles (50 km) south of Austin.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) say the balloon hit power lines before crashing.

It is the worst such disaster in US history.

NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said a power line was tripped a minute before the first 911 call.

"There is physical evidence to indicate that the balloon, or some component of the balloon, hit the physical wires themselves and not the tower," he said

The NTSB will look at several factors, including reports of foggy weather, but is concentrating first on gathering evidence such as witness statements.

The hour-long flight was arranged by the Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides company.

It is thought the flight encountered difficulties about halfway through the journey.

The company's chief pilot, Alfred "Skip" Nichols, has been named as one of the dead.

Police say he had been arrested in Missouri for drink-driving in 2000, and the Better Business Bureau in the state had warned people about doing business with him after complaints about his balloon touring company.

A former girlfriend of Mr Nichols told the Austin Statesman news site he was highly experienced and took safety very seriously.

Wendy Bartch posted on Facebook: "Love you Skip. Forever... Rest in Peace my friend. You touched my heart."

Margaret Wylie, an eyewitness who called 911 after the balloon came down, described hearing popping sounds shortly before it was engulfed in flames.

She said: "I looked around and it was like a fireball going up."

Three years ago, 19 people - many of them tourists - were killed after a balloon came down after a mid-air explosion in Egypt.