Egypt balloon crash kills 18 Asian, European tourists
Worldwide, Daily news | ankakh | February 26, 2013 16:43Eighteen Asian and European tourists died when a hot air balloon crashed early on Tuesday near the ancient Egyptian town of Luxor following a mid-air gas explosion, officials said.
Tourism official Ahmed Aboud said the balloon was at around 1,000 feet 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 10-15 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 the balloon also survived the accident, which Aboud said was caused by an explosion in the hose between the balloon’s burner and its gas canister.
Mohamed 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.
U.S. photographer Christopher Michel, who was on board another balloon, told Britain’s Sky News television that the balloon was one of eight flying at the time.
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