A HUSBAND who watched in horror as his wife was killed in a hot-air balloon tragedy in Egypt has described how he was robbed of his best friend and his "world".
Michael Rennie, from Perth, leapt to safety from the burning balloon basket only to look on as his wife Yvonne, 48, died along with 18 other tourists.
The 49-year-old, who is being treated in hospital for burns, is understood to have cried helplessly following the incident while being treated by doctors.
In his first comments since the incident, issued in a statement, Mr Rennie said: "I would like to thank the staff at both hospitals in Cairo and Luxor, the British Embassy – especially Hala Hamam and John Hamilton – and Kathryn Brace from Thomas Cook for helping me through these last few days.
"Yvonne was my rock, my friend, my shoulder to cry on. She was my world. My heartfelt condolences go out to the other families around the world who have lost relatives in this terrible disaster."
It is understood the balloon was coming in to land at al-Dhabaa village, to the west of Luxor, after a dawn sight-seeing trip to the Valley of the Kings.
When it was only 10ft from the ground, a landing cable is believed to have snagged on a gas canister and a fire broke out on board. This caused a blast which filled the canopy with hot air and sent the vessel soaring skywards again.
Joe Bampton, 40, from London, and his Hungarian-born partner Suzanna Gyetvai, 34, also died in the accident.
Mr Rennie and the Egyptian pilot, the only survivors, are believed to have jumped out before the basket rose further into the sky.
Mrs Rennie's father William Harris described his son-in-law as a broken man after receiving a call from him from the hospital. Mr Harris, of Liff, near Dundee, said: "He broke down when he spoke to me and apologised. But we know it wasn't Michael that dragged her on to that balloon — it was Yvonne that dragged Michael. Nightmare doesn't describe it."
He added: "The last half-hour or hour of my daughter's life I want to know. Once Michael's released from hospital I hope he's fit to travel home and tell us, as he interpreted it, what happened. We have to be grateful Michael is getting home. He gave Yvonne a happy life in the time they were together."
He added that the close couple were "like lovebirds in the flush of young marriage".
The tourists had been travelling with Thomas Cook and booked their balloon trip – separately from the overall holiday package – with Bright Sky Travel, which Thomas Cook contracts to provide various excursions in Egypt.
The company operating the flight was Sky Cruise, which was also involved in a balloon crash into the Nile in October 2011.
One local manager at a balloon company, Ala Mahmoud, of Magic Horizon, accused Thomas Cook of "not being professional" in its dealings with Bright Sky.
He told an independent newspaper that when Thomas Cook hired Bright Sky as its agent three years ago, his company was invited to bid for a contract to provide balloon flights over Luxor. He refused after being offered the equivalent of £35 for every £70 ticket.
Mr Mahmoud said: "The problem is they are taking so much money. It means the balloon company may not be looking for safety or quality, they are just looking for quantity."
A Thomas Cook spokesman said: "We can assure our customers we insist the local companies which offer hot-air balloon excursions to our guests in Luxor are fully licensed by the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority [CAA].
"In this tragic case, the operator was Sky Cruise, which had been verified and approved by the Egyptian CAA.
"We, like all other major tour operators, rely upon this endorsement by the Egyptian CAA and it is reasonable for us to do so as we rely on their expertise."
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