Cairo – Sixteen tourists were injured when their hot air balloon crashed in the upper Egyptian city of Luxor, a security source told the German Press Agency dpa.

The tourists included nine French, two Americans, two British, a Canadian, a Dane and a South Korean.

The source told dpa that four of the injured were in critical condition. All injured were hospitalized in Luxor International hospital.

The balloon which carried 27 tourists fell in the fields in Gourna village after it flew into a mobile phone transmission tower, the source added.

The incident is not the first hot air balloon accident involving tourists in the city – the site of the Valley of the Kings and seen as an open pharaonic museum.

In February 2008, three hot air balloons carrying 60 tourists crashed, injuring seven passengers.