Tourist dies after Egyptian hot air balloon crash-lands in strong winds
Pilot loses control 45mins into flight Seven other sightseers injured
A hot air balloon with foreign tourists sightseeing over the southern city of Luxor crashlanded yesterday, killing a tourist from South Africa and injuring seven others, Egyptian officials said.
The officials said the incident was caused by strong winds that forced the balloon, which was carrying 20 tourists, off its course above the ancient city, home to some of Egypt’s most remarkable pharaonic temples and tombs.
The balloon took off shortly before sunrise and flew about 45 minutes at an altitude of 1,476 feet before the pilot lost control due to strong wind that forced a crash-landing in a mountainous area, the officials said.
The officials said the killed tourist was South African. No details were immediately available on the nationalities of the other victims. The remaining 12 tourists were unhurt.
Other balloons had taken off around the same time but landed safely, the officials added.
Earlier in the day, Egypt’s meteorological service had warned of strong winds across the country mainly in the Nile River delta and northern Egypt.
Hot air balloon incidents have occurred in the past over ancient Luxor.
The deadliest took place in 2013 when a balloon flying over the city caught fire and plunged about 305 meters (1,000 feet), crashing into a sugar cane field and killing at least 19 foreign tourists.
In 2016, Egypt temporarily halted balloon flights after 22 Chinese tourists suffered minor injuries in a crash landing of their hot air balloon.
Over the years, Egypt has