Moroccan troops yesterday located the high-tech balloon in which the billionaire, Mr Richard Branson, had hoped to fly around the world until it broke free and drifted off in a freak accident. The balloon, which was only partly inflated, came to rest in the Atlas Mountains near the town of Ouarzazate. But troops pursuing it failed to gain control of the balloon before a gust of wind sent it floating away again.
Earlier, it had broken free while it was being inflated in Marrakesh, thwarting - at least for now - Mr Branson's second attempt to go round the world non-stop in a balloon.
A small explosion was heard before the balloon's "envelope" split from the pilots' capsule and soared away without anyone on board.
Earlier, a spokesman for Mr Branson said the team, due to have taken off from Morocco, was not giving up its attempt to circumnavigate the world, but that "it will take weeks to make a new balloon".
In January, a launch from the same area was followed within a few hours by a forced landing in the Algerian desert.