video transcript

(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION) Relatives of the Chinese victims of a balloon crash that killed 19 tourists in Luxor last week gathered at the crash site on Saturday (March 2) to commemorate the victims. Local villagers and Chinese officials accompanied family members of the nine Hong Kong tourists who died in the tragedy. Chinese consular official Qiu Xuejun thanked the Egyptian government and local villagers for their help and support. "It's a tragedy and it's an accident, and after the occurrence of the accident we got a lot of help from the villagers and from the Egyptian government and we wish to express our appreciation and thanks for all that you have done to the Chinese people to the families of the victims," he said. Eyewitness accounts and amateur video indicate that the balloon caught fire after one of its gas canisters came loose as the pilot was attempting to land. The balloon then shot back into the sky and caught fire, finally plummeting 1,000 feet back to the earth. Egypt's Aviation Ministry has launched an investigation into the crash, the worst balloon accident in Egyptian history.