Balloon crash described

Alaa Mahmoud, sales manager of Magic Horizon, a Luxor-based balloon company, said his nephew witnessed the crash from a neighbouring field. He told the Guardian the accident happened as the balloon tried to land and was about 5-10 metres above the ground.

Mahmoud said that as ground crews tried to anchor the balloon to the ground using ropes hanging from the basket, the ropes became entangled in the leads of the gas cylinders. The sharpness of the ropes, he claimed, caused the leads to be severed, which in turn sparked the fire.

At this low height, Mahmoud said, the pilot and one passenger jumped from the basket, causing it to lose balance.

"The flames were so strong that the pilot and one guy jumped," he said. "When they jumped, the balloon lost balance and the balloon went up again."

The revised number dead  is 18 wih the pilot and one other alive.

Val says Just seen pictures of the crash  on French TV and it seemed to happen much more in mid air than described.

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Credit  to   Patrick Kingsley  the Guardian's Egypt correspondent.