Locals look at the payload of a balloon, launched by the Hyderabad-based TIFR, that fell on a neem tree in Jalasangi village of Humnabad taluk, Bidar district, on Saturday.
Credit: DH Photo
Humnabad (Bidar district): A massive air balloon with a scientific payload fell in Jalasangi village in the taluk on Saturday, leaving the villagers bewildered.
The balloon with the payload for weather study was launched by the Hyderabad-based Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).
The balloon fell on a neem tree. The panic-stricken villagers thought it was debris of a satellite.
Humnabad police rushed to the village and later found that the balloon with equipment was launched by TIFR from Hyderabad.
The deputy commissioner in the media release said, “The TIFR launched 10 balloons with payloads for scientific research between December 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025. They are supposed to drop to earth at a slow pace within a radius of 200 km to 350 km from Hyderabad. Since the site falls within the radius, there is no need to panic. People should inform the nearest police station or tahsil office, if they come across such balloons with payload.”
Meanwhile, a TIFR official said that the balloon that landed in Jalasangi village was indeed launched by TIFR from Hyderabad on Friday at 10 pm, to study magnetic and electric fields.