Egypt hot air balloon crash kills 18 tourists near Luxor

Eighteen tourists are dead after a hot air balloon crash near Luxor, Egypt.

A security official told the Associated Press that tourists from France, Britain, Hong Kong and Japan are among the dead. Three survivors, including the pilot, were taken to hospital.

Reuters is reporting a midair gas explosion. A worker at a nearby hotel told the news agency that she heard a boom from several kilometres away. "Some of my employees said their homes were shaking," she said.

Ahmed Aboud, a representative of the companies in that area, told the Daily Telegraph, "People were jumping out of the balloon from about the height of a seven-storey building."