18 killed in Egyptian hot air balloon crash

Egyptian authorities now say at least 18 tourists were killed when a hot air balloon crashed in Luxor on Tuesday morning. These are mobile phone images of the place the balloon came down. Three people, including the pilot, are said to have survived by jumping from the basket when it was up 15 metres from the ground. Two of them are said to be British and the trio’s condition is described as critical. The other victims are said to be from France, Japan and Hong Kong. Early morning hot air ballooning is an extremely popular tourist activity in Egypt and the balloon came to ground on the west bank of the Nile river, where many of the major historical sites are located.