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Credit Union Blimp Catches Fire and Crashes Near U.S. Open Golf Tournament in Erin Hills

This year’s tournament is held at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.

Thursday, reports of a PenFed Credit Union blimp catching fire and crashing at the U.S. Open flooded Twitter.

A Golf.com staffer at the tournament said he overheard news about the crash from a police officer, and multiple attendees posted photos and videos of the incident to social media.

According to the official U.S. Open Twitter account, the blimp was not affiliated with the tournament or with Fox Sports.

One person was airlifted from the area by Flight for Life.

Footage shows the blimp almost completely deflated, floating to the ground.

Bystander Bryan Rosine witnessed the crash and told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “They were trying to give it some throttle and it didn’t go up. Then there was a bunch of kabooms and smoke clouds.”

“The side started deflating. One side was going in,” another bystander Tim Guetzke said. “As it headed toward the ground, it caught fire.”

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