Five dead and 38 wounded in bus crash in northern Israel
United Hatzalah volunteers are currently treating a large number of injured on Highway 89 near Hurfeish due to a bus accident. A private car and bus crashed into one another.
Photo by United Hatzalah
It has been confirmed that five people were killed in the accident. Four of the victims were riding in a private car. One was a five-year-old girl. The other three included a 12-year-old child, a fifteen-year-old and a thirty-five-year-old woman. The fifth victim was the bus driver.
Thirty-five people have been taken to the hospital, three of whom are reportedly in critical condition.
Due to the nature of the incident, United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit has been dispatched to respond to the incident and provide emotional and psychological support in addition to emergency medical services (EMS) that are active at the scene.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT and chapter Head of the Ma’alot region reported from the scene: “The incident involves a bus that is flipped over on its side as well as a large van and a private car. Thus far our volunteers have treated upwards of 20 people injured who are conscious. There are other injured who are unconscious as well as those who are still trapped that we haven’t been able to reach yet. Firefighters are currently working to extricate them from the wreckage.”
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT and head of the Ma’alot Chapter Oshri Eliyahu added: “Sadly, four people from the private vehicle involved in the crash were pronounced dead at the scene. These include a 35-year-old woman, a boy aged 15, another aged 12, and a 5-year-old girl. Our volunteers who are part of the Emergency Room Relief Project have gathered and are assisting with the reception and triage of patients in Ziv Hospital, The Galilee Medical centre in Nahariya, and Rambam Hospital in Haifa.”
UPDATE
The Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett spoke about this evening’s bus crash with Israel’s Minister of Internal Security Bar-Lev, and with the secretary general of the Bnei Akiva religious Zionist youth movement, Yair Shahal, immediately after landing in after returning from his trip to New York.
Bennett had travelled there to address the UN General Assembly. He also addressed the media before his flight home.
Five people were confirmed killed and 45 wounded when a bus carrying about 40 members of Israel’s Bnei Akiva youth organization. They were on their way home from a Sukkot holiday event in the north of Israel. The youths come from the town of Mevo Dotan in northern Samaria and Harish. Their bus crashed with a private car on the highway and all four of the car’s occupants were killed, along with the driver of the bus.
About the crash, Bennett said that “the heart is torn in the face of the scenes of the serious accident in the Upper Galilee.”
The Prime Minister offered “heartfelt condolences and a big hug to the families of those killed in this difficult time.” He also said that the entire nation of Israel prays for the healing of the wounded.
“I ask the Israeli public to be extremely careful about careful road travel,” added Bennett. “That we will not know any more sorrow.”
UPDATE
M0ran Ben Eli, 35, and her three children Dekel, 15, Liam, 11, and Anael, 5, were killed Wednesday evening when a bus collided with the car they were driving in on Route 89 near the town of Hurfeish in the north.
The father, Reuven, 35, was seriously injured and is fighting for his life.
The bus driver, Asher Basson, 76, was the fifth casualty in the accident.
Basson, who was transporting members of the Bnei Akiva youth movement on their way home from a hike, was killed after hitting a vehicle and overturning several times.
48 children who were on the bus were evacuated to hospitals in the north with varying degrees of injury, most in light condition. Several have already been released home overnight.
The mother and her three children, residents of Ma’alot, will be buried together on Thursday afternoon.
The Maalot Tarshiha Municipality stated that it is “shocked and to the depths of our souls by the inconceivable tragedy and the severe and terrible tragedy that befell our city. We share the deep sorrow of the Ben Eli family and wish a speedy recovery and complete healing to the wounded. The entire community of Maalot Tarshiha bows its head and participates in the unbearable heavy mourning of the dear family.”
According to the National Road Safety Authority, 270 people have been killed in road accidents since the beginning of the year.
