British man escapes Alps balloon crash only to fall to his death

A British man escaped unscathed from a hot-air balloon crash in the French Alps, only to fall 1,000ft to his death. Bob Bickerdike, 63, called friends to tell them he was unharmed shortly after crash-landing his balloon in the mountains at 6,000ft.

Police believe he lost his footing however on his way to finding help and fell 1,300ft down a ravine. A mountain rescue team found his body on Thursday evening.


Photo from SWNS.

It is believed the balloons took off from St Jean d'Aulps, part of the Portes du Soleil ski area near Morzine. Mr Bickerdike was alone in the basket when it crashed. There was also a second balloon, in which three of his friends were travelling. The group was on a short ballooning holiday in the Alps.

An investigation into the accident has been launched by police. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in Abondance in the French Alps on February 10. We are urgently investigating."