Victims of New Mexico hot air balloon crash identified

A bouquet of flowers placed near the basket of a hot air balloon which crashed in Albuquerque on Saturday (Andres Leighton/AP)

The names of the pilot and two couples who died after a hot air balloon they were rising in struck a power line and crashed onto a busy street in Albuquerque, New Mexico, have been named.

New Mexico State Police identified the pilot as 62-year-old Nicholas Meleski and the four passengers as Susan Montoya, 65, John Montoya, 61, Mary Martinez, 59, and Martin Martinez, 62. All were residents of Albuquerque.