Considered one of New Zealand's worst air disasters, the Carterton balloon tragedy occurred almost three years ago, however photographs of the disaster have only just been made available in the name of 'public interest' following a lengthy court battle with the photographer, TVNZ reports.

The graphic images, only a few of the 600 taken of the incident by Geoff Walker, document the precise moment the balloon struck a set of power lines and instantly burst into flames.

Drifting away from the point of contact, black smoke is shown billowing from the basket which appears to be completely engulfed in flames in the second image.

In the final and most disturbing photo, a shrivelled and burnt balloon is swallowed by the surrounding plumes as it plummets to the ground, while the basket is unrecognisable behind the inferno.

Initially all of the images, which were submitted as evidence for the public inquest into the disaster, had been banned from public release due to their sensitive nature.

However after requests from local media and the families of the victims, the coroner in charge of the case, Peter Ryan, authorised the public release of four. 

(dailymail.co.uk)