On the early morning of Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 in Luxor, Egypt, a hot air balloon full of tourists caught on fire and descended nearly 1,000 feet, killing 18 on impact.
The tragedy has been called the worst in history by ballooning experts, close behind a crash in 1989 that occurred over Alice Springs, Australia, in which 13 people were killed after two balloons collided. Nearly all on board died in the accident except for a British tourist and the pilot. A nineteenth victim died shortly after due to his injuries.
The tourists were from various parts of the world, including France, Britain, Belgium, Japan, and Hong Kong. One tourist was described as “visibly pregnant” by farmer Hassan Abdel-Rasoul, a witness of the crash. Four other tourists were identified as couples in their sixties from Tokyo, Japan.
“I saw tourists catching fire and they were jumping from the balloon. They were trying to flee the fire but it was on their bodies,” stated Abdel-Rasoul.
From the investigation it has been found that the cause of the fire was a cable that wrapped around one of the helium tanks causing the detonation of a gas canister, sending the balloon into a downward spiral.
An anonymous aviation official stated that the most likely reason of the crash was the actions of the pilot, who jumped out of the balloon instead of shutting off valves that could have prevented the explosion from happening.
Some believe that the revolution in Egypt has caused a lack of caring within the labor union. “I don’t want to blame the revolution for everything, but the laxness started with the revolution. These people are not doing their job, they are not checking the balloons and they just issue the licenses without inspection,” stated the head of Luxor’s Tourism Chamber, Mohammed Osman.
The conflicts in Egypt have also caused the downfall of tourism, the main industry of the country. The number of tourists visiting the country fell by nearly 4.9 million from 2010 to 2011. “I can spend a week or 10 days before a customer knocks on my door,” stated Khaled Wanis, a shop owner near the Luxor Temple. “The general feeling is that Egypt is hard to visit and this is not a safe place to visit. The accident will only add to this feeling.”
