HAUNTING video has shown the final moments of a thrillseeker before he plunged 1,500ft to his death from a hot air balloon in Melbourne.
The victim can be seen wearing a brown jumper in footage taken by one of the other ten passengers on board the balloon during its ascent.
Video taken from below also shows the balloon shortly after take-off around 7am on Monday morning.
Witnesses said the man seemed fine and was chatting with the ride operator about politics as the balloon launched into the air.
But in a suspected act of self harm, the man suddenly exited the basket without warning and plunged to his death.
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The pilot made an immediate may day call as horrified motorists and families on the ground witnessed the man falling through the air.
The man's body was found in a front garden in Albert Street in Preston, a suburb in north-east Melbourne, shortly after.
Emergency services were immediately called to the scene, where power lines had fallen across the road.
Police cordoned off the street as an investigation into the fatality was launched.
A white sheet soon covered the man's body on the footpath underneath an SES tent.
Passengers on board the hot air balloon are reported to be deeply traumatised by what happened and have been offered counselling by the operator.
As for the hot air balloon, it safely landed in Yarra Bend Park in Fairfield 4.9 miles away, with police already waiting by the time it arrived.
A police statement read: "Police are speaking to the other occupants in the balloon and witnesses to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
"The death is not being treated as suspicious."
It is understood that several hot air balloons had taken off at the same time and were 15 minutes into their journey when the incident occurred.
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According to passengers on a different hot air balloon, they heard distress calls over the radio reporting that someone had fallen from another balloon in Preston.
Shocked residents were also alerted to loud sirens in the streets shortly after hearing a loud "thud".
One resident told local media: "My brother heard like a loud bang, almost like something like a large item falling in your house. And it wasn't until we heard all the sirens that we came out."
Power was cut to a number of homes, along with reports of building damage.
Officers will prepare a report for the coroner.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.
