What is the hot air balloon accident in Turkey?

At 8: 00 a.m. on March 14, due to sudden change of weather, three hot air balloons crashed in Cappadocia scenic spot in Nevsehir province, Turkey, and many China citizens who were sightseeing in hot air balloons were injured to varying degrees and sent to hospital for medical treatment.

After learning the above news, China's Ambassador to Turkey Yu Hongyang attached great importance to it and immediately instructed to start the emergency handling mechanism for receiving insurance and deploy consular assistance. The Consular Section of the Embassy immediately coordinated the China Insurance Liaison Officer to visit the injured tourists in China to find out the specific situation and provide translation assistance. Counsellor Qi and his secretary, the head of the consular department, braved the snowstorm and drove hundreds of kilometers to Cappadocia that evening to visit the injured tourists who were treated in three hospitals, coordinate the optimization plans of travel agencies, hot air balloon companies and hospitals, and carefully treat the injured China people to ensure foolproof. Consular officials of the Embassy also made representations to relevant parties on the reasonable demands of China tourists.

According to the embassy, after on-site verification, 23 tourists from China were injured in the accident, but none of them were life-threatening. As of late at night 14 local time, 17 minor injuries have been discharged. Most of the hospitalized patients were fractures, 1 seriously injured patients had finished surgery, 2 were waiting for surgery, and 3 were hospitalized for observation. The injured tourists in China belong to two tour groups, both from Chinese mainland.

The Embassy of China in Turkey reminds visitors to Turkey that the weather in Cappadocia is changeable, so it is necessary to choose hot air balloon sightseeing projects carefully.