Remains of wrecked balloon
Two Clapham residents were among those killed in the tragic hot air balloon crash in Egypt yesterday.
Joe Bampton and his wife, Hungarian-born Suzanna Gyetvai, were killed in what is believed to be the worst hot air balloon crash on record.
19 people were killed in the devastating crash that took place near the ancient city of Luxor; only the Egyptian pilot and a British tourist survived.
The balloon caught fire, as it was going in to land around 7am on Tuesday. The British passenger and the pilot jumped out of the balloon that crashed from 1,000 feet in the air into a sugar-cane field and survived.
Joe Bampton and his wife Suzanna Gyetvai were aspiring artists who worked at Lots Road Auctions in Chelsea. They began dating a little while after Gyetvai joined the company four years ago, according to distraught colleagues who said the couple “fell in love at first sight”.
Bampton, who had worked at Lots Road Auctions for almost 20 years, had exhibited artworks in London and Berlin. He had grown up in Liverpool, and was a keen sports fan, captaining the Chelsea Arts Club snooker team. Gyetvai was a successful contemporary artist, who exhibited paintings in London galleries.
Lots Road auctioneer Nick Carter said: “It’s like losing a brother, not just a colleague or friend. It’s pretty gut-wrenching. Joe was a lovely person, very laid back and very calm. Zsi was different to Joe in some ways. She was very direct and headstrong. They made great companions.”
The couple had previously been on holiday to Egypt together two years ago, colleagues said.
Alison Robertson, 56, a next-door neighbor of the pair said: “They were a lovely couple. It’s such a waste of life. They were young and it’s very sad.”
Joe Bampton and his wife Suzanna Gyetvai
The tragedy raised fears of yet another blow to Egypt’s to the tourism industry, which has been hit hard following two years of uprising and unrest since the 2011 revolution that removed Hosini Mubarak of his presidency.
Safety standards have come under scrutiny as in April 2009 16 people were injured in a balloon crash touring Luxor that included two British women. There were also crashes in 2007 and 2008.
The governor of Luxor, Ezzat Saad has said ‘”We have never seen anything quite like this in Luxor before. It is an awful thing,” while sending his condolences to the families of those killed and injured.
Egypt’s civil aviation minister, Wael el-Maadawi, suspended hot air balloon flights and flew to Luxor to lead the investigation into the crash. “For the safety of the tourists and the Egyptians I have ordered all the companies dealing with balloons to stop flights until we know exactly what happened and the reasons for it.”
