French citizen killed, seven injured in hot air balloon accident in Turkey’s Cappadocia

NEVŞEHİR

AA photo

One French citizen was killed and seven others were injured on April 9 when a hot air balloon crashed in the touristic Cappadocia region of the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir, the transportation ministry has announced.

The ministry said the balloon was carrying 20 passengers, including six foreigners, when it hit an electric line during its descent in the Ortahisar region due to adverse wind conditions.

“A French citizen lost his life and seven people – four of them Turkish and three foreigners – were injured,” the statement said.

Turkish civil aviation experts were investigating the crash, it added.

The Nevşehir Governor’s Office also stated that 81 hot air balloons lifted off on April 9 in Cappadocia but one of them crashed.

Meanwhile, the killed French citizen was identified as Vincent Caumontat, the deputy consul at the French consulate in Istanbul responsible for administrative work, according to Doğan News Agency.

Cappadocia is visited by around 2.5 million domestic and foreign tourists every year, with around a fifth of these visitors taking balloon flights over the stunning landscape during their trip. However, bad weather conditions have led to a number of accidents in the region. 

In February, Danish tourist Benny Jensen was killed as the hot air balloon in which he had gone sightseeing made a heavy landing amid strong winds.    

One month later, 49 tourists were injured when three balloons made hard landings amid strong winds in the region.