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HOUSTON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Six more victims of a hot air balloon crash that killed 16 people in the central part of the U.S. state of Texas have been identified by Friday.
The massive red, white and blue balloon with a smiley face on it caught fire and crashed last Saturday morning near Lockhart, a city about 48 km south of the Texas capital city of Austin.
The six victims were identified as Sunday Rowan, Brian Neill, Tressie Neill, John Gore, Ross Chalk and Sandra Chalk, according to the website of the Houston Chronicle daily.
On Wednesday, seven victims of the crash had been identified, and they were pilot Alfred Nichols; mother and daughter Lorilee and Paige Brabson of San Antonio, Texas; Matthew Rowan of San Antonio; Joe Owens of Katy, Texas; and Harvey and Laura Douglas, of Victoria, Texas.
The remaining three passengers have not been identified, but they will be identified through dental records and DNA analysis.
The real cause of the accident is still unknown, but the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration have begun to investigate the crash and confirmed that the balloon hit a power line before it caught fire and crashed.
The 49-year-old pilot of the balloon was reportedly convicted of drunk driving at least four times in the U.S. state of Missouri and twice spent time in prison.
The accident is among the deadliest of its kind in U.S. history.
