Woman nearly choked to death after scarf gets caught in hot air balloon's fan: Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

A tourist is fighting for life after an accident with a hot air balloon in Alice Springs.

Pilot Jason Livingston purchased Outback Ballooning two days ago and said he was "gutted" that a customer had been critically injured.

"Ultimately it was a freak accident and everyone is upset about what happened," he said.

Alice Springs Watch Commander Drew Slape said the woman's scarf got caught in the balloon's inflating fan and "sudden force" was applied to her neck, leaving her with serious injuries.

The New South Wales woman, 35, was taken to Alice Springs Hospital in a critical condition. She remained there late last night but it was believed she would eventually be flown interstate.

Police have since set up a crime scene at the ballooning site, about 5km south of the desert town, and will investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau and NT Worksafe will also investigate the incident.

Mr Livingston said he couldn't comment any further about the accident due to ongoing investigations.

But former owner John Wallington said the company had an "immaculate" safety record and had been in operation for almost 30 years without any major incident.

"It's a bizarre set of circumstances - a scarf getting caught in a fan," he said.

Mr Wallington said the only accidents during the company's history involved the balloon basket coming down on customer's feet, but nothing this serious.

"Outback Ballooning has a fantastic safety record. It wasn't anything to do with bad balloon flying, the accident happened while everyone was on the ground," he said.

Mr Livingston's parents Andrew and Sally Livingston owned Early Morning Balloons in New Zealand when a hot air balloon crashed into power lines, killing 11 people last year.

The fatal flight was contracted out to New Zealand Ballooning. An interim report by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission found pilot Lance Hopping had cannabis in his system at the time of the crash.