Luxor balloon crash leaves 1 dead, 12 injured

Cairo: One foreign tourist was killed and 12 others injured when a hot air balloon crashed Friday in the ancient city of Luxor in south Egypt, security sources said.

The balloon, which was carrying 20 tourists, crashed during an emergency landing forced by fierce winds in a desert spot in Luxor, the sources added.

The dead victim was a South African national. The injured, from different nationalities, were taken to hospital and were being treated for minor wounds, the sources added on condition of anonymity.

Five other balloons, who happened to fly over the city at the same time, made successful emergency landings.

Luxor, home to a wealth of ancient Egyptian monuments, is a major tourist destination.

Tourism is a key foreign currency earner for Egypt. The industry has recently shown signs of recovery after years of slump prompted by the unrest that followed the 2011 uprising, which forced longtime president Hosni Mubarak to step down.