This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/26/luxor-hot-air-balloon-crash-kills-tourists

The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Luxor hot air balloon crash kills 19 tourists Luxor hot air balloon crash kills 19 tourists
(about 2 hours later)
Nineteen tourists, including three Britons, have been killed in a hot air balloon crash near the Egyptian city of Luxor, officials say.Nineteen tourists, including three Britons, have been killed in a hot air balloon crash near the Egyptian city of Luxor, officials say.
The balloon is believed to have caught fire and exploded on Tuesday morning, plunging into a sugar cane field (video) west of Luxor, which is 320 miles (510km) south of the capital, Cairo. The balloon is believed to have caught fire and exploded on Tuesday morning, plunging into a sugar cane field west of Luxor, which is 320 miles (510km) south of the capital, Cairo.
Witnesses described seeing people leaping out of the balloon as it was on fire. The casualties included British, French, Belgian, Hungarian and Japanese nationals and nine tourists from Hong Kong, the Luxor governor, Ezzat Saad, told reporters.Witnesses described seeing people leaping out of the balloon as it was on fire. The casualties included British, French, Belgian, Hungarian and Japanese nationals and nine tourists from Hong Kong, the Luxor governor, Ezzat Saad, told reporters.
Tour operator Thomas Cook said two Britons had died and two were taken to hospital. It later said that one of the Britons taken to hospital had died. An Egyptian is also believed to be in hospital, having survived the crash. The tragedy is one of the world's worst ballooning accidents and dealt a fresh blow to Egypt's tourism industry, which is reeling after two years of political unrest since protests that led to the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said: "We are aware of reports of a balloon crash in Luxor and are making urgent inquiries." Egypt's civil aviation minister, Wael el-Maadawi, suspended hot air balloon flights and flew to Luxor to lead the investigation into the crash.
Tour operator Thomas Cook said two Britons had died at the scene and two were taken to hospital. It later said that one of the Britons taken to hospital had died.
"What happened in Luxor this morning is a terrible tragedy and the thoughts of everyone in Thomas Cook are with our guests, their family and friends," said Peter Fankhauser, chief executive of Thomas Cook UK and Continental Europe. He said the firm was providing "full support" to the victims' families. The UK Foreign Office said it was making urgent inquiries.
As well as the surviving Briton, who is in a critical condition, the Egyptian pilot was also being treated in hospital. Rescue workers gathered the remains (video) of the dead from the field where the charred remnants of the balloon, gas canisters and other pieces of wreckage landed.
Mohamed Youssef, a pilot with Luxor-based Alaska Balloons, said his own balloon was airborne 100 metres from the crash, three or four minutes from landing.
He told the Guardian the fire started when the balloon was 3 metres from the ground and was caused by a leak in one of the four gas cylinders. Once the fire had begun, the pilot and one British passenger leapt to safety. This affected the balance of the balloon, which in turn sent more heat into the balloon's "envelope" and caused it to rise rapidly into the air, he said.
"When the balloon was at about 100 feet, I saw people jumping. I saw about five or six people jumping," he said. Youssef said some of the passengers were killed on contact with land, while others died from burns.
The balloon began to descend again and on reaching the ground there was a pause of around 15 seconds before one of the remaining four cylinders exploded, causing a loud blast.
Youssef said he was a close friend of the pilot whom his father had visited in hospital and been told by a doctor that he had suffered from 70% burns. The pilot could talk and said his head hurt and there was a problem with his leg.
Youssef's uncle, Alaa Mahmoud, sales manager of Luxor-based balloon company Magic Horizon, said he believed the explosion happened when ground crews tried to anchor the balloon and the ropes hanging from the basket became entangled in the leads of the gas cylinders. The sharpness of the ropes, he claimed, caused the leads to be severed, which in turn sparked the fire.
Associated Press quoted a state prosecutor saying a landing cable got caught around a helium tube causing the fire to start.
Cherry Tohamy, an Egyptian living in Kuwait who was on holiday in Luxor, told the BBC her balloon was landing when she heard an explosion and saw flames from a balloon above.Cherry Tohamy, an Egyptian living in Kuwait who was on holiday in Luxor, told the BBC her balloon was landing when she heard an explosion and saw flames from a balloon above.
"Our pilot told us that the balloon had hit a high pressure electrical cable and a cylinder on board exploded," she said. "People were jumping out of the balloon from about the height of a seven-storey building.""Our pilot told us that the balloon had hit a high pressure electrical cable and a cylinder on board exploded," she said. "People were jumping out of the balloon from about the height of a seven-storey building."
Alaa Mahmoud, sales manager of Magic Horizon, a Luxor-based balloon company, said his nephew witnessed the crash from a neighbouring field. He told the Guardian the accident happened as the balloon tried to land and was about 5-10 metres above the ground. Luxor, which stands on the banks of the river Nile and on the site of the ancient city of Thebes, is a major destination for tourists visiting its many remains and monuments. But tourism is down by 22% since 2010, and brings in 25% less revenue than it did that year. Luxor's hotels are currently about 25% full in what is supposed to be the peak of the winter season.
Mahmoud said that as ground crews tried to anchor the balloon to the ground using ropes hanging from the basket, the ropes became entangled in the leads of the gas cylinders. The sharpness of the ropes, he claimed, caused the leads to be severed, which in turn sparked the fire. Balloon trips, usually at sunrise over the Karnak and Luxor temples as well as the Valley of the Kings, are popular with visitors but concerns have been raised previously about their safety.
At this low height, Mahmoud said, the pilot and one passenger jumped from the basket, causing it to lose balance. In April 2009, 16 people were hurt, including two British women, when a balloon crashed during a tour of Luxor. The balloon was believed to have hit a mobile phone transmission tower near the banks of the Nile. After the crash, early morning hot air balloon flights over the Valley of the Kings were suspended for six months while safety measures were tightened up. There were at least four other non-fatal crashes that year involving tourists, including three on one day, and there were also crashes in 2007 and 2008.
"The flames were so strong that the pilot and one guy jumped," he said. "When they jumped, the balloon lost balance and the balloon went up again."
The American photographer Christopher Michel was in another balloon, taking aerial shots, when the crash happened. He told the BBC: "We flew over the ancient ruins. Just before landing in the cornfields, I heard an explosion and saw smoke. I think it was the balloon behind mine. I wasn't sure what had happened at first. It was only when we landed we heard the full extent of what happened."
Konny Matthews, assistant manager of Luxor's Al Moudira hotel, said she heard a "huge bang" several kilometres from the hotel at around 7am (5am GMT). "Some of my employees said that their homes were shaking," she said.
Luxor, which stands on the banks of the river Nile and on the site of the ancient city of Thebes, is a major destination for tourists visiting its many remains and monuments. But Egypt's tourism industry has suffered amid the political instability that has rocked the country since the beginning of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak as president in 2011.
Balloon trips, usually at sunrise over the Karnak and Luxor temples as well as the Valley of the Kings, are popular with visitors.
In April 2009, 16 people were hurt, including two British women, when a balloon crashed during a tour of Luxor. The balloon was believed to have hit a mobile phone transmission tower near the banks of the Nile. After the crash, early morning hot air balloon flights over the Valley of the Kings were suspended for six months while safety measures were tightened up.