Terrified festival goers fled screaming when a strong gust of wind swept a fleet of hot air balloons into a crowd in Mexico.

The stunt was supposed to be one of the highlights of the International Hot Air Balloon Festival in Leon, Guanajuato State, on 19th November.

Instead, the terrified crowd of 60,000 stampeded, leaving 12 injured when balloon baskets crashed into them.

Local media reported that some sustained bruises and others suffered nervous breakdowns after the balloons hurtled through the crowd.

The carnage happened while the crowd was waiting for DJs Martin Garrix and Tiesto to perform.

Six of the injured were taken to the private Hospital La Luz for check-ups to rule out any serious injuries.

The other six arrived at hospital later due to bad traffic.

All have since been discharged.

Some of the hot air balloons did not take off as planned the following day due to adverse weather conditions.