<p>The air balloon carrying a total of 14 passengers and crew crashed at 6.20 am (local time) near Suwaihan, a village surrounded by farms and date plantations about 72 kilometers south of Dubai, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in a statement.<br />It said two people -- an Indian and a French -- were killed and one person injured.<br />The GCAA, however, did not disclose their identity.<br />It said an investigation team was already at the accident site and had begun its initial probe.<br /><br />The balloon was operated by Balloon Adventures Emirates, said the sightseeing company's director, Peter Kollar.<br />He said passengers were taken to the hospital in Al Ain, a nearby oasis city on the border with Oman.<br /><br />Kollar said a sudden change of wind struck the balloon as it came in to land.<br />"It was a freak wind change," Kollar was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "The balloon did not fall out of the sky. It happened at landing."<br />He said one of the company's pilots was at the helm, but did not have information about those killed and injured. He said the company was working with local investigators.<br /><br />Dubai-based Balloon Adventures operates early morning desert sightseeing trips from a launch site in the remote area near where the crash occurred.</p>
<p>The air balloon carrying a total of 14 passengers and crew crashed at 6.20 am (local time) near Suwaihan, a village surrounded by farms and date plantations about 72 kilometers south of Dubai, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in a statement.<br />It said two people -- an Indian and a French -- were killed and one person injured.<br />The GCAA, however, did not disclose their identity.<br />It said an investigation team was already at the accident site and had begun its initial probe.<br /><br />The balloon was operated by Balloon Adventures Emirates, said the sightseeing company's director, Peter Kollar.<br />He said passengers were taken to the hospital in Al Ain, a nearby oasis city on the border with Oman.<br /><br />Kollar said a sudden change of wind struck the balloon as it came in to land.<br />"It was a freak wind change," Kollar was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "The balloon did not fall out of the sky. It happened at landing."<br />He said one of the company's pilots was at the helm, but did not have information about those killed and injured. He said the company was working with local investigators.<br /><br />Dubai-based Balloon Adventures operates early morning desert sightseeing trips from a launch site in the remote area near where the crash occurred.</p>