Crash of balloon in Egypt kills 19 tourists

Nine Hong Kong tourists were among at least 19 people killed in a hot air balloon accident near the Egyptian city of Luxor on Tuesday. The balloon was 300 meters high when it caught fire, probably due to a gas cylinder exploding, and plunged into fields. [Photo by Reuters]

Nineteen Asian and European tourists died when a hot air balloon crashed early on Tuesday near the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor following a midair gas explosion, officials said.

Tourism official Ahmed Aboud said the balloon was at about 300 meters above Luxor, famous for its pharaonic temples and tombs of the Valley of the Kings, including Tutankhamen's, when the blast happened.

The pilot survived by jumping from the basket when it was 10 to 15 meters from the ground, said Aboud, head of an association representing Luxor balloon operators.

The pilot was being treated for burns, Aboud said by telephone. One of the tourists aboard also survived the accident, which Aboud said was caused by an explosion in the hose between the balloon's burner and its gas canister.

Mohammed Mustafa, a doctor at the hospital where the wounded were being treated, said the dead included tourists from Britain, Japan and Hong Kong. Three more were hurt, he added.

Luxor province's governor told Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr that some of the bodies had yet to be identified.

The health ministry said three people survived but were injured in the crash, including two Britons and one Egyptian.

The Britons were in "critical condition," including one undergoing surgery, state television reported, but security officials said all three Britons had died.

The British Foreign Office could not immediately confirm if any Britons had died.

"We are aware of the reports. We are making inquiries," a Foreign Office spokesman said.

In Luxor, security services cordoned off the scene of the crash in the dense sugar cane fields, as police and residents inspected the charred remains of the balloon.

The Japanese embassy in Cairo said it was trying to confirm the reports that Japanese nationals died in the accident.