On October 6, 2001, approximately 0930 mountain daylight time, a Cameron 105 hot-air balloon, N9524U, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained minor damage during a hard landing while the pilot was attempting a high wind landing near Albuquerque, New Mexico. The private pilot was not injured while 2 of his passengers sustained serious injuries and one was uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from Albuquerque at 0800. The pilot was provided a detailed weather briefing at 0615. The forecast for the remaining of the morning called for light and variable winds. Soon after departure, the winds increased from 4-6 knots to 6-8 knots, gusting to 15 knots. The pilot flew around waiting for winds to subside to no avail. The pilot was forced to land with the prevailing high winds when he started getting low on fuel. During the high wind landing, two of the 3 passengers sustained serious injuries.