Four Kiwis were onboard a hot air balloon when it crashed in Egypt, killing a South African tourist and injuring at least 12 others.

The balloon plummeted to the ground near the ancient city of Luxor on Friday night (NZ time), after strong winds forced it off course, according to local officials.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed the New Zealand embassy in Cairo is providing consular assistance to the Kiwis involved in the incident.

It is understood none of them were seriously injured.

Reuters reported a healthy ministry spokesman saying an Argentinian and two French tourists were being treated in hospital.

A number of other tourists were also taken to Luxor International Hospital but released after a few hours, the ministry said.

According to CNN there were 20 people onboard the hot air balloon when it crashed.

Hany Al-Sayyed, traffic manger for the Sinbad hot air balloon company, told CNN the balloon was getting ready to land when a sudden, strong wind erupted.

"The victim is an Australian man of South African descent. His head was hit during the landing. Most of the other injuries are minor, scratches to the torso, and they were taken to the hospital," he said.

Some of those onboard were on a Topdeck tour. A spokesperson from the travel company's London headquarters said last night that response teams were assisting travellers.

An Australian woman onboard the balloon reported on Facebook that she had "bumps and bruises" after the crash, and would "probably never set foot in another hot balloon ever again".

"I feel lucky to have walked out of this traumatic experience, a scary freak accident," she wrote.

Egyptian officials said other balloons had taken off around the same time but landed safely.