Hot air balloon tragedy kills 19 in Luxor, Egypt

A hot air balloon exploded on Tuesday morning and plunged into a sugar cane field west of Luxor, Egypt killing 19 tourists on board, three of which are reported to be from the UK with a further in hospital.

Luxor governor, Ezzat Saad reported the casualties included British, French, Belgian, Hungarian and Japanese nationals and nine tourists from Hong Kong.

Three survivors of the crash were hospitalised.

The balloon was reported to have hit a high pressure electrical cable and a cylinder on board explosion. Eye witnesses reported people jumped out of the balloon from the height of a seven-storey building.

American photographer Christopher Michel was taking shots in another balloon when the accident occurred. 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." (NewsPoint)