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| Balloon crashes near Luxor killing 19 tourists | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Nineteen tourists, some of them British and French, are reported to have died in a hot air balloon crash near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor. | Nineteen tourists, some of them British and French, are reported to have died in a hot air balloon crash near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor. |
| The balloon was flying at 1,000 ft (300m) when it caught fire and exploded, plunging onto fields west of Luxor, officials said. | |
| Two people, including the balloon's pilot, reportedly survived the crash. | |
| Luxor lies on the banks of the River Nile and is home to some of Egypt's most famous pharaonic-era ruins. | Luxor lies on the banks of the River Nile and is home to some of Egypt's most famous pharaonic-era ruins. |
| "There were 20 passengers aboard. An explosion happened and 19 passengers died. One tourist and the pilot survived," Ahmed Aboud, a representative of balloon firms in Luxor, told Reuters news agency. | |
| The British foreign office told the BBC it was making urgent enquiries with its colleagues in Egypt to confirm reports of British casualties. | |
| Hot air ballooning is a popular way for tourists to see Luxor's famous sites, such as Karnak temple and the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. | |
| Luxor, like many other parts of Egypt, has seen a sharp downturn in visitor numbers since the uprising in early 2011 that forced long-time President Hosni Mubarak to step down. | |
| Are you in Luxor? Send us your comment using the form below. | Are you in Luxor? Send us your comment using the form below. |