What caused a hot air balloon carrying 13 people to crash? How many people died? What to know:

Officials on Tuesday continued to investigate what caused a hot air balloon carrying more than a dozen people including eight skydivers to crash into the desert in Arizona over the weekend.

The "catastrophic" crash took place Sunday in Eloy, the city's police department Chief Byron Gwaltney reported, claimed four people's lives on board, and left a fifth passenger − a 23-year-old from Scottsdale, Arizona −clinging to life.

All eight skydivers had completed a successful jump before the balloon hit the ground, the chief and Eloy Mayor Micah Powell told reporters during a news conference at the scene.

Here's what to know about the hot air balloon crash in Eloy:

Where did the hot air balloon crash take place?

The balloon went down in "an empty field in a desert area" in Eloy, a city in Pinal County about 65 miles southeast of Phoenix.

The impact, Eloy Mayor Micah Powell said, took place in "the world's largest drop zone" for skydivers.

How many people were in the hot air balloon that crashed?

Before it crashed, Powell said the balloon had been carrying 13 adults − its operator, four passengers and the eight skydivers.

Five people were inside the gondola when it crashed, officials said, and one of them died at the scene.

Three passengers were taken to a hospital where they later died, Powell said. Another passenger was taken to a trauma center in critical condition.

Who died in the hot air balloon crash in Eloy?

Three passengers and the pilot died, while another passenger was critically injured after the crash.

Police identified them as pilot Cornelius Van Der Walt, 37, of Eloy, and passengers Chayton Wiescholek, 28, of Union City, Michigan; Kaitlynn Bartrom, 28, of Andrews, Indiana; and Atahan Kiliccote, 24, of Cupertino, California.

Plane crashes into Pacific Ocean:Woman's body, wreckage found after plane crashes into ocean in Half Moon Bay, California

What caused the hot air balloon crash?

According to the mayor, witnesses stated that in the last several seconds of the impact that the material of the hot air balloon "was just straight up and down and the impact was fairly large."

Photos taken the scene after impact show the aircraft's envelope, the portion of the aircraft that looks like a balloon, collapsed on the ground.

The cause of the crash remained under investigation on Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, police said.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.