The Arab Misr Insurance Group (AMIG) has been informed that a balloon crashed near Luxor killing 18 tourists who were aboard on Tuesday at dawn, said Tarek Al Gammal, general manager of compensation sector at AMIG and head of marine hull insurance committee at the Insurance Federation of Egypt (IFE).
The balloon is owned by Egypt Airship which has insurance coverage from AMIG covering the balloon, passengers and staff against death and personal accidents. The company is currently taking the required procedures to evaluate the value of compensations due to the company, he added. The company will send a technical committee to the site to estimate the damages tomorrow.
The balloon which was carrying 21 people was flying at 300 meters (1,000 feet) over Qurna, in Luxor’s West Bank. The people who were on board are nine from China’s Hong Kong, four from Yemen, two from Belgium, two from Britain, two from France and an Egyptian as well as the pilot.