Hot Air Balloon Explodes In Sharjah, Tourist Severely Injured

by Vaishnavi Venkataraman
Hot Air Balloon Explodes In Sharjah, Tourist Severely Injured

Dubai is flooded with a whole lot of adventure activities, but it looks like things are beginning to take an ugly turn. The hot air ballon ride is one of the most-loved adventure sports in the city. However, things went haywire recently when one of the balloons collapsed, injuring an African traveler who was in the country.

What’s It?

A 54-year old African tourist was in Dubai to enjoy the desert safari and the other interesting things the city had to offer. However, fate had it otherwise. The tourist was onboard a hot air balloon ride, when a technical glitch caused the balloon to collapse and land at Sharjah’s Al Badayer.

Credits: Hot air balloon Facebook
Credits: Hot air balloon Facebook

On receiving the information, a team of Dubai police rushed to the spot, along with an ambulance. The tourist was in a critical condition and needed to be airlifted to the hospital. The injured man is currently undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit at Al Qasimi Hospital.

Investigation for the cause of the collapse is currently underway and probe will soon determine if there were any violations that lead to the accident.

Sadly, this is not the first incident happening this month. Earlier, two Indians died during quad biking and two other Arab women were severely injured after their biked collided. The Sharjah police have recorded over 20 quad biking accidents in the last two years in Al Badayer and other desert safari areas in Madaam.

What Else?

Meanwhile, the Sharjah police recently revealed nationalities causing the most number of fatal accidents in Sharjah this year. First on the list were GCC nationals followed by Pakistanis, Indians and Bangladeshis. During this period, 41 people lost their lives and 30 were injured in road accidents. Inattentive driving, entering a road without making sure it was clear and speeding were the major causes of fatal accidents.