Egypt balloon blast kill tourists

Eighteen foreign tourists, including at least two Britons, have been killed in Egypt after a hot air balloon crashed near the ancient city of Luxor. Officials said that there was a fire and an explosion causing the balloon to plunge several hundred feet from the sky and crash into sugar cane fields west of Luxor, about 320 miles south of Cairo, the Egyptian capital. An Egyptian security official said 18 tourists had died including nine people from three families from Hong Kong, four from Japan, three Britons and two French tourists.

The number of Britons killed however is unclear as the tour operator Thomas Cook said two had died and two were in hospital following the crash. The survivors, including the pilot, were rushed to hospital suffering up to 70 per cent burns to their bodies after leaping from the balloon just before it crashed. The pilot survived by jumping from the basket about 30 feet from the ground
Witnesses described hearing a loud explosion, which shook homes, and thick black smoke, with some passengers jumping for their lives from the equivalent height of a seven-storey building.

The balloon's operating company confirmed that a gas cylinder exploded mid-air just after 7am local time.