Egypt balloon crash: 'Britons dead'

Feb 26 2013

A number of Britons are among 19 tourists killed in a hot air balloon crash near the Egyptian city of Luxor, officials said.

The balloon is believed to have caught fire and exploded, before plunging into a sugar cane field west of Luxor, which is 320 miles south of the capital Cairo.

The casualties are believed to include British and French tourists, as well as other nationalities, said a security official in the country.

A Foreign Office spokesman: "We are aware of the reports and we are making urgent inquiries with the authorities in Egypt."

An AP reporter at the crash site said he saw eight bodies being put into body bags and taken away.

According to one report, one tourist and the balloon pilot survived the accident, which happened after a gas explosion at an altitude of 1,000ft.

Hot air balloon trips, usually at sunrise over the Karnak and Luxor temples as well as the Valley of the Kings, are popular with British visitors to Egypt.

Sixteen people were hurt, including two British women, when a balloon crashed during a tour of Luxor in April 2009. The balloon was believed to have hit a mobile phone transmission tower near the banks of the Nile.