Belarus Fines 2 Surviving Balloonists

The government of Belarus on Friday fined two American balloonists $30 each for entering the country without a visa after it forced their craft down in an incident in which two other Americans were killed. The Clinton Administration declared the situation “a tragedy . . . now becoming a farce.”

The balloons were taking part in the annual Coupe Gordon Bennett international gas balloon race in Europe, and the event’s sponsors say Belarus had given permission for participants to cross its territory earlier this week. But on Tuesday, defense forces shot down one of the balloons, killing pilots Alan Fraenckel and John Stuart-Jervis, and forced two others to land.

The two crew members in the third balloon were released Wednesday and crossed into Poland that day.

State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns demanded Friday that the Belarussian government punish the individuals responsible for the shoot-down. And he described as “a mockery” the government’s decision to fine J. Michael Wallace of Massachusetts and Kevin Brielmann of Connecticut for entering the country without a visa.

“Two Americans die, four Americans are forced to the ground, and when two of those four try to leave the country, they are fined $30 because they don’t have visas,” Burns said. “It is now becoming a farce.”

The bodies of Fraenckel and Stuart-Jervis, both of the U.S. Virgin Islands, were flown to the Belarussian capital, Minsk, on Friday in preparation for being sent home.