19 tourists killed after hot air balloon crash in Egypt

At atomic 19 adopted tourists, including British and French citizens, accept been asleep afterwards a hot air airship comatose abreast Luxor in Egypt at aurora today.

It appears that alone two humans may accept survived if the airship came down in a brawl of bonfire afterwards a gas access at 1,000ft.

Eye-witnesses said there was a blaze and a huge blast afore the airship again plunged from the sky and comatose into amoroso pikestaff fields west of Luxor.

Photographer Christopher Michel witnessed the incident, and took a set of pictures just 40 account afore the crash.

'It was the airship abaft mine. I heard a loud access and saw smoke. 19 dead,' he tweeted anon afterwards.

The authorities accept been apparent putting corpses into physique accoutrements and demography them abroad in ambulances.

There were about 20 humans on lath and 14 bodies accept been amid so far.

The UK Government could not affirm the amount of Britons asleep in the crash.

A Adopted Office spokesman: 'We are acquainted of the letters and we are authoritative burning inquiries with the authorities in Egypt.'

Ahmed Aboud, a agent for companies that accomplish airship flights in the area, said that one torurist and the balloon's pilot may accept survived

'There were 20 cartage aboard. An access happened and 19 cartage died. One day-tripper and the pilot survived,' he said.

Beautiful: Tourists will often be swept along the Nile and over Luxor's plethora of historic sites

Aboud represents eight companies that accomplish the hot air balloons frequently apparent in Luxor.

Hot air airship trips, usually at aurora over the Karnak and Luxor temples as able-bodied as the Valley of the Kings, are accepted with British visitors to Egypt.

Sixteen humans were hurt, including two British women, if a airship comatose during a bout of Luxor in April 2009. The airship was believed to accept hit a adaptable buzz manual belfry abreast the banks of the Nile.

Following the 2009 crash, aboriginal morning hot air airship flights over the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of the Nile were abeyant for six months while assurance measures were anchored up.

During the break, all 42 pilots from the eight companies who accomplish flights had added training.

Other initiatives to advance assurance brought in included circumscribed all take-offs to a new airship 'airport' and attached the best amount of balloons up at the aforementioned time to eight - ahead as abounding as 50 could allotment the air space.

Popular: Many tourists will take a balloon rise around the majestic Valley of the Kings

Luxor is 320 afar south of Cairo and is one of Egypt's a lot of accepted day-tripper destinations as it is abutting to the acclaimed Valley of the Kings, area abounding pharaohs are buried, including Tutankhamen.

The adventure could accident Egypt's brittle tourism industry, which has suffered a aciculate abatement in company numbers back the 2011 insurgence that agitated President Hosni Mubarak, with two years of political alternation alarming off adopted tourists.

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