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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Egypt balloon crash: investigators seek to interview survivor Michael Rennie

Egypt's lead investigator is seeking to interview Briton Michael Rennie, the only tourist who survived the crash of a hot-air balloon in Luxor after it caught fire and plummeted to the ground, killing 19 others, including his wife.

Michael Rennie jumped 20ft from the balloon when a pipe from gas tanks set it alight Photo: Hotspot Media

Mr Rennie, escaped with only minor injuries and no burns, a neurologist who is treating him at a Cairo hospital, Mahmoud el-Shennawy has said.

The only other survivor – the balloon's Egyptian pilot, who also jumped out – suffered heavy burns.

The sightseeing balloon on a sunrise flight Tuesday over the ancient monuments of Luxor was carrying 20 tourists from Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, Belgium, Hungary and France. It was in the process of landing when a fuel line for the burner heating the air in the balloon broke, sparking a fire, according to preliminary indications, investigators have said.

Mr Rennie and the Egyptian pilot, Momin Murad, managed to escape the balloon's gondola when it was still relatively close to the ground. The balloon then rose back up some 1,000 feet into the air. The fire spread to the balloon itself, which burst, sending it plummeting into a sugar cane field.

Witnesses have said some of the tourists still trapped in the burning balloon as it rose jumped to their deaths trying to escape.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/9900233/Egypt-balloon-crash-investigators-seek-to-interview-survivor-Michael-Rennie.html