A hot air balloon has crashed near
the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor, killing 19 foreign tourists.
The balloon was carrying 21 people at the time and was flying at
a height of 1000 feet over Qurna, in Luxor's West Bank.
An Egyptian security official says there was a fire and an
explosion on-board the balloon, which fell to the ground and crashed into sugar
cane fields.
The casualties are believed to include British, French,
Japanese, Korean and other foreign nationals.
Two
survivors from the crash, including the balloon's pilot, have been taken to
hospital.
Hot air ballooning is popular with tourists who go to Luxor to
visit its ancient temples and the tombs of the Valley of the Kings.
But the activity is not without its dangers. 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.
Following the 2009 crash, early morning hot air balloon flights
over the Valley of the Kings were suspended for six months while safety measures
were tightened up.
During the break, all 42 pilots from the eight companies who
operate flights had extra training.
A notice on the Foreign Office website warn tourists that:
"There were three serious hot air balloon accidents in Luxor in 2009.
"You should consider the operator's safety arrangements
carefully."
Egypt's tourism industry
has suffered a sharp downturn in visitor numbers since the 2011 uprising that
toppled President Hosni Mubarak, with two years of political instability
scaring off foreign tourists
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