VANCOUVER - At least five of the 11 people injured last weekend in the tragic hot-air balloon accident south of Vancouver that took two lives have been released from hospital, a spokesman for Fantasy Balloon Tours said Tuesday.
John Kageorge said it was his understanding that five people remained in hospital. Another person could be released later Tuesday, he said.
Kageorge said the company has contacted some of the injured.
The company is there "as emotional support because this is a trauma that everyone seems to only be able to relate to others that have gone through it.
"We're there to be accessible and forthcoming in any questions that they have.''
The company, he said, has made contact either with the injured or with family members of others it hasn't yet spoken to directly.
"Some individuals haven't yet been in the shape where we've been in touch with them.''
Kageorge also suggested that the company's insurance would assist.
"The company is fully licensed and insured with Lloyd's of London. The reason for the insurance is to ensure if anything tragic were ever to occur, people's needs are being looked after.
"There is pain, suffering, injuries and fatalities and property loss. The company deeply regrets that.''
The public also learned this week that Stephen Pennock, the pilot at the helm of the balloon, faced reckless endangerment convictions two decades ago.
But Kageorge said both counts against Pennock were later overturned by the B.C. Court of Appeal and fines totalling $750 were returned.
Kageorge said one count related to a manoeuvre in which the gondola of his balloon dipped into Elk Lake near Victoria on Vancouver Island.
During the same flight, a 12-year-old boy -- a stranger who was not a passenger or crew member -- grabbed a rope hanging from the balloon and was suspended 20 metres above the ground.
Kageorge said the court determined that the boy, not Pennock, was negligent.
"This boy was negligent for possibly endangering passengers. The pilot was able to prevent any accident through his fast action.''
He said the pilot will not be holding a news conference to discuss the weekend tragedy for some time.
He is "emotionally devastated by this and in no condition'' (to hold a news conference now).
A mother and daughter from Langley, B.C., were killed in the Friday crash.
The women were identified by a relative as Shannon and Gemma Knackstedt. Shannon's husband and their other daughter, Justine, remain in hospital.
Witnesses said the craft got into trouble shortly after takeoff, and passengers began leaping out of the flaming gondola before it crashed.
