A man died on the first day of his new job by falling 30ft from a hot air balloon.

Shocking footage captures the moment the student, who was working part time for the hot air balloon company, suddenly takes off.

The youngster desperately tried to hold on to the outside of the basket as people rushed to help.

As he fell onlookers at the Youyi Manor near the city of Zhuzhou, in China could be heard screaming,

A spokesman for the Lexiang Aviation Sports Club confirmed that the victim was a part-time university student.

The student fell from the balloon (

They called the emergency services, but the young man had already died by the time they arrived, shortly after 11.30am on Friday.

The company informed the victim’s family and have vowed to cooperate with the local authorities in the ongoing investigation.

The company spokesman said that they have been left with fewer operators since reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The club recruited a number of part-time college students for the first time to use for group management and tour guidance for about £13.70 a day.

It took off as he was working on it (
He tried to hold on but fell 30ft (

He said: “We taught the take off process when we were training them, but he did not follow the training method.

“However, he didn't seem to pay attention.

"He grabbed the basket and went up with the hot air balloon.”

The balloon operator failed to notice that the part-time worker was dangling from the basket at first and was eventually alerted by people on the ground.

The company spokesperson said the victim was around 10 metres (33 feet) from the ground when he fell from the basket.

The investigation continues.