Egyptians blocked path of injured

Air Force choppers transfer some of those injured from bus accident in Nuweiba. Family: 'Injured told Egyptians they want to cross into Israel, Egyptians didn't agree'

Meir Ohayon|Published: 08.23.06 , 08:34

Ten Israelis were killed Tuesday in a bus accident in Nuweiba ,Sinai, and 50 were injured. 30 of those are being treated in Israel and the remainder in Sinai hospitals. It is still not clear how the accident happened, and a puncture in the tire is being checked.

Bus Accident

Eyewitnesses: People died in our arms

Meir Ohayon

Bus accident eyewitnesses: Egyptian rescue forces took long time to reach scene. Accident victims: There's no water at Egyptian hospital, people are lying on floor

Eyewitnesses: People died in our arms

The injured were brought to the Taba terminal only after long and precious hours had passed.

Injured people and casualties said that the Egyptians made it difficult for Israelis hospitalized in local hospitals who wanted to cross into Israel.

IDF helicopters transferred 12 of those injured to hospitals in Eilat and Beer Sheva overnight, while 11 others were taken to the Assaf Harofe hospital in Tzrifin.

A 6 year-old girl who was supposed to be taken to Assaf Harofe was airlifted to the Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva after her condition deteriorated en route.

Injured person taken to Israel (Photo: Meir Ohayon)

The Foreign Ministry expressed its gratitude to the Egyptian authorities for their assistance with the accident and the help provided to the casualties.

The accident occurred at about 4:30 p.m. The bus, which belongs to the Egyptian RANO company, was one of eight driving Israeli Arabs on an organized tour. The tour was arranged by the Bassel Tours company from Nazareth.

Several passengers who sustained serious injuries were evacuated to the hospitals in Nuweiba and Sharm al-Sheikh. Passengers who sustained light injuries boarded buses making their way to the Taba Terminal.

Workers at the Bassel Tours office told Ynet that the bus carried Israeli tourists from Sharm to Israel and back on a daily basis.

Leviv, one of the company managers said: "The tourists were families who were on their way home from Sharm to Israel. They were families from Nazareth, Kafr Manda and Kafr Yasif.

Eilat District Police Commander Bruno Stein said that the bus overturned as a result of a puncture.

The Egyptian police officer also said that the accident was apparently caused by a flat tire, but added that "the authorities are also looking into the possibility that the driver lost control as a result of reckless driving at high speed. All the signs point to the fact that an explosion in one of the tires caused the bus to overturn. There are several casualties on the scene."