London:
Two British tourists were killed and another two were injured when a hot air balloon exploded in the Egyptian city of Luxor on Tuesday, killing up to 19 people, tour operator Thomas Cook said.
"We can confirm that two of our guests are in local hospitals, but tragically two of our guests have died in the hot air balloon incident in Luxor, Egypt this morning," the company said in a statement.
A spokesman confirmed that the guests had flown to Egypt from Britain.
Thomas Cook has temporarily suspended sales of hot air balloon rides in Egypt pending an investigation into the crash, which occurred during a sunrise flight over the ancient temple city.
An Egyptian security official said 19 tourists had died including nine from Hong Kong, four from Japan, three Britons, two French tourists and one Hungarian.
The British Foreign Office would not confirm the death toll, saying only that "we believe a small number of British nationals are involved in an incident in Luxor this morning", and that consular staff were offering assistance.
Peter Fankhauser, chief executive of Thomas Cook UK and Continental Europe, said: "What happened in Luxor this morning is a terrible tragedy and the thoughts of everyone in Thomas Cook are with our guests, their family and friends.
"We have a very experienced team in resort with the two guests in the local hospital, and we're providing our full support to the family and friends of the deceased at this difficult time."