British consul visits Egypt balloon crash site

British consul John Hamilton visited the site of a hot air balloon crash near the ancient Egyptian town of Luxor on Wednesday (February 27), the day after the balloon caught fire and fell to the ground, killing 19 people.

The British government said two British citizens and a British resident of Egypt were among the dead, who were mainly European and Asian tourists.

The balloon came down in farmland a few kilometres from the Valley of the Kings and pharaonic temples popular with tourists. Rescue workers had gathered the dead from the field where the charred remains of the balloon, gas canisters and other pieces of wreckage landed.

Speaking from the site on Wednesday, Hamilton said British authorities were working with the families of the British victims.

"I know my colleagues from other embassies are working with their own nationals as well. We have been having a great deal of assistance and co-operation from the Egyptian authorities and we're very thankful for everything they are been doing so far as well," he said.

The balloon crashed on the west bank of the Nile river, where many of the area's major historical sites are located. Hot air ballooning at dawn is popular with tourists, who are a mainstay of the Egyptian economy, although visitor numbers have fallen sharply since a 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

Two years of political instability have kept away many foreign tourists.

Luxor governor Ezzat Saad said he didn't think the crash would have a negative impact on tourism in the area.

"This is the first time with victims as we have seen and that is why we think that this incident will not have a big or a decisive impact on the flow of tourists to our governorate," he told reporters.

Saad said a committee from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had been appointed to investigate the crash.