Luxor governor Mahmoud Badr confirmed the accident. An official from Luxor’s governor’s office said the person killed was a 36-year-old woman from South Africa. The injured included tourists from Spain, South Africa and Argentina. A health ministry spokesman said that two of the wounded were in serious condition. The crash was caused by strong winds that led the driver to lose control over the balloon as he was landing.
Hot air balloons over Luxor
The balloon was traveling over the ancient city when it was forced off course and into a mountainous area by strong winds. Some 20 ambulances attended the scene of the accident. Hot air balloon accidents have occurred in the region before. Currently, Egypt is witnessing unstable weather conditions. The deadliest balloon crash in history in Egypt occurred in February 2013 in the same area, Luxor, when 19 people were killed. n 2016, 22 Chinese tourists suffered minor injuries in another balloon crash, which prompted the country to temporarily halt flights while it tightened safety measures.
