Footage of the hot air balloon exploding and falling back to earth. A hot air balloon ride turned to tragedy Tuesday when the balloon exploded and plummeted to the ground, killing 19 people. It was the deadliest hot air balloon accident in the world in at least 20 years.

The balloon carrying 21 tourists from Hong Kong, Japan, France, Britain and Hungary was flying at 300 metres when it exploded and caught fire, a security official said.

The pilot and one tourist survived by jumping out of the basket moments before it hit the ground, said an employee at the company operating the balloon, Sky Cruise. Both were taken to hospital.