CAIRO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian prosecution ordered on Saturday detention of four men in the southern city of Luxor over the recent hot air balloon crash in the city that left a tourist dead and 15 others wounded, official MENA news agency reported.
The balloon fall that took place on Friday due to bad weather killed a 34-year old South African tourist and wounded two others from South Africa, five from Australia, four from France, two from Argentina, one from Brazil and one from Egypt.
Luxor's public prosecution ordered detention of the balloon pilot and three officials from the operating company pending investigation.
Upper Egypt's Luxor witnessed similar hot air balloon accidents in the past years. In February 2013, 19 tourists, mostly Asians and Europeans, were killed when their balloon caught fire in the middle of the flight. Another accident in September 2016 injured 22 Chinese tourists when their balloon crash landed, after which Egypt temporarily halted balloon rides.
Rich of ancient monuments and historic sites, Luxor is one of the number-one tourist destinations in the country that is working hard on reviving the tourism sector, which has been suffering slowdown over the past few years due to political instability and relevant security challenges.
