Two British women were among 13 foreign tourists to be injured when a hot air balloon crashed in Egypt, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed.

英国外交部证实，埃及热气球坠落的13名外国游客中有两位美国妇女受伤。

Ballooning over the temple at Luxor has become popular among tourists

Three Egyptian operators were hurt when the balloon came down during a tour of the ancient city of Luxor（卢克索）. It is said to have hit a mobile phone mast（旗杆，天线塔）.

Several people were taken to hospital with minor¹ injuries but have since been released, the governor of Luxor said.

It is the latest of several incidents involving balloons in Egypt recently.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Two Britons were confirmed injured.

"Their next of kin²（近亲） have been informed and we are providing consular³（领事的） assistance."

BBC correspondent⁴ Christian⁵ Fraser said he understood the balloon hit the communications tower on the west bank of the Nile, near the village of Gourna.

There were eight French tourists on board, along with the two Britons, a Canadian, a Dane and a Korean.

A fortnight ago seven tourists were injured in a similar crash.

In late February, three hot air balloons carrying 60 tourists crashed on the same day in separate locations. Seven passengers suffered injuries including broken bones.

Mr Fraser said: "The problem appears to be the number of balloon companies that are working in the area - all of them competing on price.

"So far there have been no deaths but in the past the government has been forced to ground the balloons while it investigates safety."

Debbie el Shobrakitty, who runs The Lantern restaurant in Luxor, told reporters that balloon trips were very popular with British visitors to the city.

Mrs el Shobrakitty, who is originally from Suffolk but moved to Egypt 22 years ago, said: "There have been one or two minor accidents in the past but on the whole they are very safe and are run by reputable（受好评的，有声望的） companies."