Egypt tourists injured by hot air balloon accident
26 February 2008A number of tourists in Egypt have had to rely on their travel insurance after suffering injures following three accidents involving hot air balloons, reports claim.
Bad weather caused the three balloons to lose altitude and hit the ground in separate areas of the southern city of Luxor, injuring seven people, security sources told the Deutsche Press Agency (DPA).
One French tourist and six Colombians were hurt in the accidents, according to DPA.
The visitor from France was thought to have suffered a fractured leg.
Some 53 people also onboard the balloons when the accidents occurred escaped injury, sources said.
Investigations are currently underway into the exact causes of the events and why the hot air balloons were operating tours in bad weather.
Luxor, a city in south-eastern Egypt close to the banks of the River Nile, is one of the African country's primary tourist hotspots, along with locations such as Cairo, Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada.