Four tourists die in hot-air balloon crash in China

Four Dutch tourists, including one woman, died on Wednesday when a hot-air balloon caught fire and crashed in Guilin, a popular tourist destination in south China.

Four Dutch tourists, including one woman, died on Wednesday when a hot-air balloon caught fire and crashed in Guilin, a popular tourist destination in south China.

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Five passengers, all from the Netherlands, and two Chinese pilots were aboard when the accident took place in Maling Township of Lipu County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The pilots and a Dutch tourist were injured and have been taken to hospital, an official of the Lipu county government told Xinhua.

The pilots lost control of the balloon after it took off from Yangshuo county. It flew to neighbouring Lipu county and caught fire 150 metres above Maling, said an official. The identities of the dead are not yet known.