Stunned friends will become a support network for balloon tragedy survivor Michael Rennie when he returns to Scotland.
Mr Rennie, from Perth, was one of just two to survive the accident, which cost his wife of five years Yvonne her life.
He and his companions were forced to leap from their burning balloon as it plummeted, in flames and out of control.
The 48-year-old remains in hospital but medical staff in Egypt said he had sustained no fractures and could be discharged to return home to Perth without his beloved Yvonne.
As investigations begin to determine the cause of the crash, news of their involvement in what has being described as the world’s worst hot air ballooning accident has hit friends and family hard.
Friend and colleague David Speake told The Courier of his horror, and the loss the man he knows as “Mick” has suffered.
He followed the story from news of the balloon accident, to the revelation that Scots had been involved and of the loss of life suffered, and finally to the realisation that his friends had been involved.
Only as details of Michael and Yvonne’s professions came to light did he finally begin to accept what had happened to the couple.
Yvonne was a member of staff with NHS Tayside, while Michael is a package manager with construction services firm Carillion.
“I first heard the news on the radio and to start with I wouldn’t let myself believe that it was Mick they were talking about,” he said. “Gradually the reality sunk in.
“It’s a terrible thing that has happened. Since then I’ve been inundated with calls and texts from friends and former colleagues, all of them shocked by what has happened.”
Mr Speake said he had worked alongside Mr Rennie for many years, whether at Ninewells Hospital or in the building trade with firms including Mowlem and Carillion.
“He is well known throughout the construction industry and he was given the nickname ‘Mick Mowlem’ because he was in with the bricks.
“I can only hope that he has a swift recovery.”
He added: “I’ll certainly be coming to Perth to offer my support once he’s back in Scotland and I know that his friends will be a support network for him.”
Family members were attempting to come to terms with the accident. Mr Rennie’s 80-year-old father John, of Kirkcaldy, declined to comment when contacted by The Courier.
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed that Mr Rennie remained in a stable condition in hospital in Egypt.
Members of consular staff have been at his bedside. They have also provided support to both his and wife Yvonne’s family back in the UK.
In the coming days they will also provide advice as the process of repatriating Mrs Rennie’s body to Scotland is undertaken.
There was shock at her place of work, with colleagues at Perth Royal Infirmary struggling to come to terms with their loss.
NHS Tayside clinical services manager (diagnostics group) Tejinder Chima expressed heartfelt condolences on behalf of staff to Yvonne’s family and friends.
“Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time,” he said. “Yvonne’s untimely death has left all the staff at Perth Royal Infirmary and throughout NHS Tayside deeply saddened at the loss of a very dear colleague and friend.
“She will be greatly missed by all.”
Yvonne joined the staff in the Radiology department at Perth Royal Infirmary as an appointments officer in June 2006, having previously worked at Ninewells Hospital. Latterly she worked as a senior administrative officer and was a highly valued member of the radiology department team, known for her patient care.
In expressing his own sadness and sincere sympathies to all of Yvonne’s family, radiology manager Douglas Mitchell added: “We are in shock at the sudden and tragic loss of Yvonne.”
He continued: “She was a much-loved colleague who enjoyed her job and her tragic passing has had a huge impact on all of us who knew and worked with her. She will be sadly missed.”