Balloon brushes power lines with 10 people on board in Melbourne crash

Photo / Thinkstock

A hot air balloon with 10 people on board has crashed in suburban Melbourne, brushing power lines as it came down.

There were no injuries when the balloon came down at Essendon Fields, near Essendon Airport, just after 7am today (9am NZT) an Ambulance Victoria spokesman said.

The balloon came in contact with power lines while the basket was on the ground.

It was understood power was off in the area.

Police are investigating.

Meanwhile, searchers in New South Wales have found a man's body near the wreckage of a light plane that crashed in the state's Illawarra region.

The crashed single-seater plane was found less than two hours after the search resumed this morning in dense bushland between Bulli Tops and Sublime Point at 6.30am (8.30am NZT).

Police say searchers found the body of the man, 57, in the area where the plane came down.

The hunt for the plane was sparked after a resident reported a loud bang in the area at about 7.45pm (9.45pm NZT) on Tuesday.

The single-seater aircraft with one man aboard was reported missing after taking off from Wedderburn Airport, between Sydney and Wollongong.

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- AAP