Two French tourists were killed in northern Mauritania when the hotair balloons they were using to cross the mountainous region burst during a sandstorm, security sources said.

Four other French citizens were injured, two of them seriously, in the incident which took place near the oasis of Ain Ehl Taya, some 45 km (28 miles) southwest of the town of Atar in Mauritania's desert north.

The victims were part of a group of 12 tourists who set off from Ain Ehl Taya in balloons belonging to French travel company Mauritanie Aventure, according to the prefect of Atar.

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