Bus flips over on highway; 46 hurt
Dozens injured as private bus traveling north flips over. MDA declares scene mass casualty event; five passengers are in serious condition
A private bus carrying families flipped over Saturday on Highway 6, near Eyal Junction, wounding 46 people, including 17 children.
The families were returning from a trip to Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque, a resident of Majdal Krum told Ynet.
"They were very fortunate. God was watching over them," he said.
Three passengers sustained serious wounds, 11 suffered moderate injuries and 32 were lightly hurt. Other motorists in the area initially offered first aid to the many wounded, before ambulances arrived at the site.
The flattened bus
Magen David Adom declared the accident a mass casualty event, dispatching large emergency services teams to the scene. Twenty-five of the injured passengers were rushed to Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba and Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer.
The accident happened around 3:30 pm, as the bus was driving north on Highway 6. The overturned bus was not immediately removed, effectively blocking the entire road. As a result, the police closed off a section of the highway and were rerouting traffic.
The Sharon's district traffic branch commander, David Bar Khenin, said that an initial probe showed the bus suddenly veered to the right, prompting the driver to break sharply to the left to avoid hitting the railing.
"The bus driver was also hurt and was not questioned yet," Bar Khenin said. "The reason he veered off is unclear at this time and whether it was a technical mishap or human error."
An eyewitness driving behind the bus told Ynet that just prior to the accident the bus "seemed to be swaying from side to side. I was about 10 yard behind it. I've never seen anything like it," she said. "Then it flipped over, dragged for about 30 yards and came to a stop."
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