Tour guide for nine killed in Egypt balloon disaster testifies at inquest

[Rancor]

Tour guide for nine Hongkongers killed in Egypt balloon disaster testifies at inquest

Wilson Au says balloon burst into flames 10 minutes after taking off

PUBLISHED : Monday, 15 February, 2016, 8:18pm
UPDATED : Monday, 15 February, 2016, 8:29pm

Chris Lau
[email protected]

Siu Chi-keung, who lost his brother and sister-in-law in the tragedy. Photo: Bruce Yan

The hot air balloon on which nine Hongkongers died in Egypt in 2013 burst into flames 10 minutes after take-off and disappeared as staff went chasing after it, a tour escort told an inquest yesterday.

Wilson Au retold the tragic story in testimony at the Coroner’s Court in Sai Wan Ho on Monday as the inquest got underway after two adjournments spanning three years.

The inquest looked into the tragedy which left nine Hongkongers dead in Luxor on February 26, 2013. Ten other passengers, from other parts of the world, also died, bringing the total number killed to 19.

Testifying yesterday, Au, who worked for Kuoni, the travel agency which organised the trip, said things began to go wrong when he and his local assistant, called Mustafa, headed to the planned landing spot shortly after the balloon set off early that morning.

Ten minutes into the flight, he recalled in court yesterday: “Mustafa and the driver’s assistant saw there was a hot air balloon on fire up above.”

Immediately he asked if that was the balloon – prepared by a company there called Sky Cruise – his guests were on. “At the time, none of them were sure if the hot air balloon was the one with our customers on board,”he said.

They kept driving for another 10 to 20 minutes to reach a sugar cane field, during which he already lost sight of it, against a backdrop of walkie-talkie conversation in a language he did not understand.

They dashed to the field with other local farmers after they out of the car, he recalled.

But he recounted: “When we reached the place, the hot air balloon was no longer in sight.” He said he did not see it fall from the sky, either.

He will continue giving evidence on Tuesday.

Before sending the passengers onto the balloon, the Au – who had led four tours to Egypt before and gone on a hot air balloon once – briefed the nine about things to watch out for based on his own experience and what he was told by his more experienced colleagues, he said.

After that, the pilot gave the nine another safety briefing in English on board, which coroner officer Edward Brook pointed out was without an interpreter. But Au said the two briefings were more or less the same.

Whether the nine bought or were advised to buy insurance covering the flight by the travel agency and Au specifically was also a point of contention in court yesterday.

Relatives of the victims attend a mourning ceremony at the crash site in 2013. Photo: Sam Tsang

Au conceded he had not attempted to help any of the nine buy insurance during a preparatory meeting in town weeks prior to the trip. At the time, he did not know whether he was going to lead the tour.

He was also not sure whether he had advised them to buy insurance for the activity specifically at the meeting, but said they were reminded by his company in other ways.

He said the nine had to pay an extra USD$190 for the flight, USD$70 of which went to him while the rest went to Mustafa.

The sum paid to Mustafa, he said, supposedly included flying insurance, though he was uncertain if it really did.

Before summoning Au yesterday, coroner June Cheung Tin-ngan reminded the six relatives of the deceased in attendance that the Coroner’s Court had only limited jurisdiction.

“The purpose is to inquire into the cause of death and the circumstances connected to the death,” she said.

Her court was to examine “what did or did not happen”, while other disputes relating to “faults, civil liabilities, and compensations” would have to be resolved in other courts, she said.

The coroner said her job was to find out the facts and “to prevent further tragedies”.