Nineteen foreign tourists died in the deadliest ballooning accident on record.

 

　　The service was attended by the governor of Luxor and diplomats from the embassies of Britain, China, Hungary and Japan.

 

　　Eino Chai, from the Japanese embassy issued a heartfelt tribute at the memorial.

 

　　"I'd like to extend my sincere condolences to the victims' families. I think it was a very frightening and sad experience that shouldn't have happened."

 

　　British tourist Andy Welsh said that he had spoken to two of the victims, just days before the fatal crash.

 

　　"I knew four people on that balloon. Two English and two French. The two French stayed at the Sofitel (hotel) and I had only talked to them a couple of days previous (to the accident). It's so sad."

 

　　The hot air balloon was carrying 20 tourists from Hong Kong, Japan, Britain, Belgium, Hungary and France on a sunrise flight over Luxor's landmark sites and desert landscape.

 

　　The disaster occurred when the balloon was trying to land on Tuesday.

 

　　Initial investigations suggested the accident happened because of an operation error.