Relatives of Hong Kong balloon victims gather at crash site in Egypt
Hong Kong mourners perform rituals and lay white chrysanthemums in field where loved ones died after viewing debris from explosion
Relatives of the nine Hong Kong tourists who died in last week's hot-air balloon explosion made a tearful pilgrimage to the site of the disaster in Egypt yesterday.
They gathered in the field where the balloon crashed near the village of Hager El Dibie, west of Luxor, to perform mourning rituals.
Accompanied by Hong Kong officials, the families - who had made the one-hour flight south from Cairo - lit incense and made offerings of fruit.
Each family member carried white chrysanthemums, which they laid at the site after making three customary bows.
They were joined by Chinese embassy officials and local villagers and their children, who also arrived to pay their respects.
The scorched earth where the flaming Sky Cruises balloon fell - in sight of the Valley of the Queens - was ringed with flowers as the grief-stricken relatives gathered in the sugarcane field.