BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The families of the Chinese victims of Tuesday’s balloon crash in , have arrived in Cairo to identify the bodies of their relatives. 18 tourists from different nationalities, died in the crash, said to be caused by a technical failure.

A holiday that turned into a tragedy for 9 Chinese as their balloon plunged into the ground on a fateful Tuesday morning. Amidst huge anticipation and attention from the Egyptian public and media, the families of the victims arrived to Cairo to receive the bodies of their loved ones.

Due to the state of grief and shock, they declined to speak to the media, but the 20 family members were accompanied by a delegation from the foreign ministry of China. The delegation aims to facilitate the procedures for receiving the bodies and also meet with Egyptian officials.

Qin Xuejun, delegation head of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, "I wish to say that we feel very shocked and wish to express our deep sympathies and also the officials from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."

The Egyptian government said the investigation is ongoing but so far the cause could be a leak in a valve that led to a fire and explosion in a gas cylinder. Meanwhile the Chinese ambassador expressed his sorrow for the loss of lives and said the embassy is following up on investigations with Egyptian authorities.

Song Aiguo, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt, said, "We feel very sad that we lost 9 Hongkong compatriots during the balloon crash yesterday. The Chinese Central government attaches great importance to this accident. Just this morning, I went to the airport and picked the working teams dispatched by the Chinese government and by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. We will work closely together and take care of what happens next. Today we will receive the families and friends of the victims who have came here from Hong Kong and talk about how to do the follow up work."

The delegation plans to meet with the Egyptian foreign minister who cited that those responsible will be severely punished.

The Chinese embassy also announced that it might open it gates next week as Egyptians and foreigners here are expected to flock to the embassy to pay their respects and condolences for the Chinese people.

(Source: CNTV.cn)