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30 Tourists Die in Israel Bus Crash

By Doron Berti
,
Reuters
posted: 1 DAY 22 HOURS AGO
comments: 63
filed under: World News
Text SizeAAA
NEAR OVDA, Israel (Dec. 16) – A bus full of Russian tourists veered off a desert road in Israel and plunged down a ravine on Tuesday, killing up to 30 people and seriously injuring about a dozen more.
The crash, near the Sinai Desert border to the north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat, was the worst in Israel for years.
Israel's ambulance service reported 24 dead, many of whom were Russian. The Russian ambassador to Israel, Pyotr Stegniy, told Moscow's state-controlled Vesti-24 channel that the latest figures he had from Israeli authorities stated that 30 people were killed and 21 were injured.
There was no immediate Israeli confirmation of the higher death toll.
Soldiers, police and rescue workers rushed to the scene and army helicopters flew in to evacuate survivors, who had just arrived in Israel.
"I saw people flying out of the windows as the bus rolled down the slope," said one taxi driver who witnessed the crash.
Bodies, baggage and wreckage were scattered down the steep slope beneath a winding highway, according to witnesses at the scene, where the tour bus lay on its side on the desert floor of a rocky canyon.
An Israeli officer shouted instructions through a bull-horn as stretcher teams laid out a line of white plastic body-bags.
Army helicopters shuttled to and from the crash scene beyond nightfall, ferrying the worst of the injured to a hospital in Beersheba. Ambulances raced others into Eilat for treatment.
"Suddenly the bus started to fall off the left side and from there I don't remember a thing. I woke up lying on the ground," Yelena Potyomkina, a 56-year-old passenger, told Israel's YNET news website.
Israel's Tourism Ministry said the bus was one of two carrying a group of travel agents who had just arrived from St. Petersburg at nearby Ovda airport, which serves Eilat.
Emergency Flights
The Red Sea resort on the Gulf of Aqaba, at Israel's southern tip bordering Jordan and Egypt, is a popular destination for northern tourists seeking winter sunshine.
Russian authorities said they were sending two planes to Israel with relatives and specialist medical personnel.
"Tonight we plan to dispatch two emergency ministry aircraft to Israel. One plane will fly from Moscow to St Petersburg and then Eilat bringing relatives of those who suffered in the crash," a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Ministry said.
"A cargo plane will head for Eilat as well. It will carry medical staff, psychologists, rescue workers and necessary medical equipment."
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said an initial police investigation was focusing on whether the bus driver lost control while trying to overtake another vehicle.
Copyright 2008, Reuters
2008-12-16 14:52:06
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Volkswagonmama

10:26 PMDec 18 2008

Solace686 10:54 AMDec 17 2008 To all of you hate-filled, evil, pseudo-Christians: "What does the lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." I suggest you look up the words "justly", "mercy", and "humbly". Then perhaps you will start to cleanse your minds of all the evil thoughts that fill you.You dont have a clue what God wants and does .God wants people to stand up for what is right and not act like a nutcase .Trying reading the Bible and just see what Jesus did when he got mad .He let them know he was MAD and didnt like what they did .Ill just bet you dont know what made him mad .Figure it out and then you will know thats its ok to speak our minds and not to take bad off of bad people .

AVG RATING:
(1)

GSarge32

04:57 PMDec 17 2008

Some of you people are the most ignorant, arrogant, stupidest bastards ever!!! Then you wonder why everyone in the world hates Americans and the USA...Look at yourself's!! Your beyond pathetic!! Not all but most!!!

AVG RATING:
(1)

Jeff1214

04:39 PMDec 17 2008

InsAgentJoe and your comment is God's way of saying there are still idiots running their mouths off with garbage in spite of all my efforts. As far as Arab land, you are on American land so get the heck out of here moron.

AVG RATING:
(1)

Nogood35

03:55 PMDec 17 2008

does anyone else feel deprived not to be in one of these 3rd worlds i mean if these guys cant find a toilet they just use their pants then go home and order their wives to clean them up. hell japan has kids older than 10 still running around in diapers. is America missing something here or what.

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(3)

GDC49

01:23 PMDec 17 2008

What a tragedy... I wonder if the bus driver fell asleep or was it just a bad area of road...not known of. ??? Just goes to show you... YOU NEVER KNOW when your time is up. RIP.

AVG RATING:
(2)

Wynncb

01:23 PMDec 17 2008

I know I ask this everyday, but I must ask again; Where do you people come from?

AVG RATING:
(4)

C24ROWN

12:55 PMDec 17 2008

How sad. This is a loss of mothers, fathers, children, grandparents. What is wrong with you people who spew such hatred. Israel is open to anyone who will choose to go there. It is a beautiful land and becoming safer than the United States to live in.

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(0)

Dssullivan1

12:43 PMDec 17 2008

God know what his doing !!!And I am sure he are blessing all of them.Just keep praying please!

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(2)

Trink21

12:35 PMDec 17 2008

"group of travel agents who had just arrived from St. Petersburg"............Hello and welcome to Isreal.............................oooops, sorry, my bad!!!!!!

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(2)

Trink21

12:34 PMDec 17 2008

"group of travel agents who had just arrived from St. Petersburg"............Hello and welcome to Isreal.............................oooops, sorry, my bad!!!!!!

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(2)

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