Hot air balloon crashes in Al Ain; 2 dead

 Al Ain/Dubai: At least two tourists in a hot air balloon died when the balloon crash-landed in bad weather conditions on Sunday morning.

The balloon, carrying 14 passengers, including three crew, crashed in the desert near Al Nahil, a town 70km north-west of Al Ain, at 6.45 this morning, killing an Indian and a French national.

A spokesperson at the hospital told Gulf News that 11 people had received minor injuries. They were treated and later discharged but one patient, a ground crew member from Tanzania, was seriously injured and is being treated in the intensive care unit of the hospital.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) launched an investigation yesterday and has yet to say what caused the accident. In a statement, the balloon operators, Balloon Adventures Emirates (BAE), expressed regret over the deaths.

Emergency landing

"The pilot and 13 passengers took off early on Sunday morning in light winds, however soon after takeoff the wind picked up significantly and the pilot decided to make an emergency landing," said a BAE representative.

The injured were taken to Al Tawam hospital in Al Ain.

A friend of one of the tourists who died said, citing the passengers, that the flight was delayed by about an hour before takeoff due to bad weather. "How did they allow the balloon to fly under such weather conditions?" he said.

He added that family members were seeking emergency visas for the UAE.

Farsheed Rahim Khani, manager of Dreamdays.ae, the tourism portal through which some of the tourists bought the tickets for the balloon ride, said that Balloon Adventures Emirates "has an excellent safety record". "It is a company with international experience, and in the five years they have been here they have never had any such accident. The reason we choose to work with them is because they are so strict on safety," he said.

A Dubai based photographer, who has flown with the operators five times, said the organisers are "meticulous about safety".

"I have had tricky landings with them and they have handled them very well," he said.

Weather: Forecast

Light rain and strong winds were experienced yesterday across the UAE, causing a slight fall in the high daytime temperatures.

The situation is particularly rough in the desert areas and the Arabian Gulf. Visibility is low in the deserts and on highways passing through the open land areas. The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology said the sea is rough with six to eight foot waves offshore.

Towering clouds dominated the skies yesterday morning and light rain fell in various parts of the country. Forecasters said conditions will continue to be partly cloudy to cloudy. The sea will, however, continue to be rough.