JERUSALEM, Israel – At least five people are dead and dozens injured after a bus carrying 40 children collided with several cars in the Upper Galilee region on Wednesday.
Israel’s Magen David Adom EMS service said four passengers traveling together in a single car were killed, including a 35-year-old mother and her three children – her 11 and 15-year-old sons and 5-year-old daughter. The father, who was driving, is in critical condition. Authorities say the fifth victim was the 76-year-old bus driver.
Witnesses said the crash happened after the bus swerved out of its lane for an unknown reason and hit several cars.
Update to the accident on Road 89 near Hurfeish: MDA EMTs and paramedics are pronouncing the death of a total of 5 victims, one man from the bus and 4 passengers from the car, while evacuating 35 victims to Ramban Hospital, Galilee Medical Center and Ziv Hospital in Safed. pic.twitter.com/Z34luRiyiy
— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) September 29, 2021
Israel’s military deployed helicopters to help rescue teams evacuate dozens of injured people to nearby hospitals.
The Bnei Akiva religious Zionist youth movement said in a statement that the bus was carrying children who were returning home from a day trip for the Sukkot holiday.
“We felt the bus accelerate for an unknown reason — maybe something hit it — and then we turned over three or four times. It was crazy. I don’t know how my pupils and I are alive,” one trip counselor told the Ynet news site.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
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