Four Dutch tourists were killed in the scenic Chinese town of Yangshuo on Wednesday when their hot-air balloon burst into flames and plummeted 150 metres (500 feet) to the ground, state media reported. The victims were among a group of seven people, including five Dutch nationals, who had ascended in the balloon in the early morning for a birds-eye view of Yangshuo's famed green-clad karst hills, Xinhua news agency said.
Shortly after the five tourists took off from Yangshuo - part of the city of Guilin in China's southern Guangxi region - the two Chinese pilots lost control of the balloon, the report said. The balloon then burst into flames and crashed to the ground. The four dead were two men and two women, all in their fifties, Xinhua said, citing police. It had earlier reported the dead were three men and a woman.
It said the other three people aboard the balloon were rushed to hospital for treatment of injuries but did not say how badly they were hurt. The Dutch nationals had arrived in China last month, it said. Ballooning is a popular tourist activity in Yangshuo and Guilin, whose beautifully shaped hills and green rice paddies have been the subject of Chinese paintings and poems since ancient times. The balloon operator was identified as Dongguan Meixiang Aviation Club, based in neighbouring Guangdong Province, Xinhua said.
Comments
Comments are closed.