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| Luxor hot air balloon crash kills 19 tourists | Luxor hot air balloon crash kills 19 tourists |
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| 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 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Egypt's civil aviation minister, Wael el-Maadawi, suspended hot air balloon flights and flew to Luxor to lead the investigation into the crash. | 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. | 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. | "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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | "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. | 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 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. | 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. | 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." |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. |