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No Russians on board crashed air balloon

A tourist air balloon crashed at about 06:00 local time (07:00 Moscow time) on Monday near the Turkish city of Urgup

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, May 20 (Itar-Tass) - According to early reports, there were no Russian nationals on board the hot air balloon that crashed on Monday in Turkish Cappadocia (the province of Nevsehir), spokeswoman for the Rosturizm Federal Tourism Agency, Irina Shchegolkova, told Tass.

“We are checking all reports about this accident. We have contacted the Russian Embassy which also gathers all information. According to preliminary reports, there were no Russians on board the hot air balloon,” she said.

A tourist air balloon crashed at about 06:00 local time (07:00 Moscow time) on Monday near the Turkish city of Urgup. There were 25 tourists on board, including Brazilian, Argentinean and Spanish nationals.

A 75-year-old female Brazilian national was killed in the crash, but she died not of injuries but of a heart attack.

Sixteen people were injured. Some of them received medical treatment at the scene, while eight people were rushed to hospital. Medics say they are in a grave condition.

The tragedy happened when the ascending balloon struck another balloon’s wicker basket above it, causing a tear that sent it plunging to the ground. This happened because of a strong gust of wind.

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