Up to 16 feared dead in Texas hot air balloon crash

Up to 16 people are feared dead after a large hot air balloon caught fire and crashed in Texas on Saturday, US media reported.

The accident occurred shortly after 7:40 am (1240 GMT), when the balloon crashed into a field near Lockhart, around 30 miles (50 miles) south of Austin, Lynn Lunsford of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.

There do not appear to be any survivors, ABC News cited the Caldwell County sheriff's office as saying.

There was no immediate official confirmation of possible fatalities or injuries.

FAA investigators are on their way to the site, Lunsford said, with the National Transportation Safety Board taking charge of the probe.