Egypt: Hot air balloon crash kills at least 18 foreign tourists in Luxor
Egypt: Hot air balloon crash kills at least 18 foreign tourists in Luxor (VIDEO)
At least 18 foreign tourists were killed in a hot air balloon crash in Luxor, Egypt.
Tourist hot air balloons float during dawn across Egypt's Valley of the Kings, near Luxor on November 15, 2007. (CHARLES ONIANS/AFP/Getty Images)
At least 18 foreign tourists were killed in a hot air balloon crash in Luxor, Egypt on Tuesday. Luxor's governor has now banned the use of hot air balloons in the province, AFP reported.
A reported 21 people were in the balloon when it plummeted almost 1,000 feet near the Nile resort town, apparently after a gas explosion, CNN said, citing EgyNews reports. Three people reportedly survived the harrowing crash, including the balloon's pilot.
Al-Ahram online cited a source at Sky Cruise who said the hose attached to the gas tanks was cut by workers tugging the rope of the balloon during landing.
According to Reuters, Ahmed Aboud, a spokesman for companies that operate balloon flights in the area, said:
"There were 20 passengers aboard. An explosion happened and 19 passengers died. One tourist and the pilot survived."However, there have been conflicting reports over the death toll, as well as the nationalities of the people onboard. The Egyptian health ministry said that 14 people had died and that four people were missing, AFP reported.
According to CNN, the dead included nine tourists from Hong Kong, four from Japan, three from Britain, two from France and one from Hungary.
The Associated Press reported that three people — two tourists and one Egyptian — survived the crash and were taken to a local hospital.
The BBC cited a witness as saying passengers were jumping out of the balloon as it fell, "from about the height of a seven-story building."
Luxor has been a popular spot for hot air ballooning, with visitors coming to see Pharaonic temples and the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, including that of Tutankhamen.
Six Colombians and a British national were injured on February 26, 2008, when their hot air balloons crashed around Luxor.
It's unclear how long the new ban on hot air balloons might last.
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Tourists die in Egypt hot-air balloon crash
Published on Feb 26, 2013
Nineteen tourists have died in a hot air balloon crash near the historic city of Luxor. Witnesses say the balloon caught fire and exploded mid flight. Two people survived, including the pilot. Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from Cairo.