- Title: EGYPT: Balloon accident commemoration takes place in Luxor
- Date: 2nd March 2013
- Summary: LUXOR, EGYPT (MARCH 1, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DIGNITARIES AT PRAYER SERVICE VARIOUS OF REPRESENTATIVES OF FOREIGN EMBASSIES LAYING FLOWERS AT SITE OF BALLOON ACCIDENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) GOVERNOR OF LUXOR, EZZAT SAAD, SAYING: "As soon as we will receive the outcome of the investigation it will be conveyed to your embassy [the Chinese embassy] in Cairo immediately. We are keen to know exactly the reasons behind this terrible crash. We are keen to receive as much Chinese tourists as possible." VARIOUS OF FOREIGN DIGNITARIES, LOCAL OFFICIALS AND RELIGIOUS FIGURES AT CEREMONY LAYING FLOWERS
- Embargoed: 17th March 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Egypt
- City:
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Accidents
- Reuters ID: LVAAX9OOW8J89V0JM8IR1VD3XGUI
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Foreign dignitaries, Egyptian officials and religious figures on Friday (March 1) attended a prayer services and commemoration for the victims of a hot balloon crash that killed 19 people last week.
Diplomats from China, Japan, Great Britain and Hungary laid flowers at the site where the balloon crashed in farmland a few kilometres from the Valley of the Kings and other temples popular with tourists.
Eyewitness accounts and amateur video indicate that the balloon caught fire after one of its gas canisters came loose as the pilot was attempting to land. The balloon then shot back into the sky and caught fire, finally plummeting 1,000 feet back to the earth.
Relatives of the victims have travelled to Egypt to visit the site of the crash and to bring home the bodies of their loved ones.
Also attending the ceremony was Luxor Governor Ezzat Saad, who said that he hoped the results of the investigation into the crash would be released soon.
"As soon as we will receive the outcome of the investigation it will be conveyed to your embassy [the Chinese embassy] in Cairo immediately. We are keen to know exactly the reasons behind this terrible crash. We are keen to receive as much Chinese tourists as possible," he said.
Hot air ballooning at dawn is popular with tourists, who are a mainstay of the Egyptian economy, although visitor numbers have fallen sharply since a 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.
The accident has raised fears that Egypt's tourism industry will be further dented by the tragedy.
Egypt's transportation minister has said that hot air balloon flights would be stopped until an investigation into the cause of the accident.
The families of Chinese victims of the disaster are expected to attend a ceremony in Luxor at the crash site tomorrow. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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