Eight dead, dozens hurt in major road accident in Negev
Eight people are dead and dozens more were injured in a collision in southern Israel involving a bus, a tractor, and a private vehicle Tuesday afternoon.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said that all of the fatalities are women in their 50s. The women were reportedly on their way home from a prayer trip to al Aksa mosque in Jerusalem.
Authorities reported that 29 people were injured, including three moderately hurt and 26 suffering light injuries.
All of the injured were rushed to Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba.
The crash happened near the entrance to Lehavim on highway 31 north of Beersheba.
An initial investigation into the accident found that a truck which was hauling a tractor collided with the bus, causing the tractor to fall on the left side of the bus, partially crushing it.
Police said that the section of Highway 31 between Shoket Junction, Eshkolot Square, and Highway 40 has been sealed. Motorists are being diverted to alternate routes.
Following the crash, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences over the loss of life in the major crash and wished a full recovery to those injured, during a meeting with Interior Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, according to the Prime Minister’s office.
BEN HARTMAN/JPOST.COM
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